Criminal charges against twin brothers from Gresham, Oregon involving apparent gun trafficking have added fuel to the campaign for tougher gun laws in the Beaver State including a limit on the number of firearms one may purchase in a month.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland, “Edward Charles Green and his twin brother Thomas Edward Green III, both 23 and residents of Gresham, Oregon, have been charged by criminal complaint with falsifying information in connection with the acquisition of a firearm and making false statements in a federal firearms licensee (FFL) record.” Gresham is a city located just east of Portland.
A Justice Department news release said the Green brothers are “self-identified members of the Unthank Park Hustlers,” a local sub-group of the Bloods gang. They are alleged to have “illegally” purchased 82 firearms from gun stores since April 2020.
KOIN News in Portland reported federal authorities launched an investigation in May after Gresham police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department reported “multiple shootings.” The story said Portland police officers recovered four guns purchased by Edward Green within a five-day period in August 2020, including one gun confiscated during an investigation of a shooting outside the Greens’ apartment in Southeast Portland. Edward Green also allegedly bought two more handguns found at the scene of a car crash “caused by gunfire in Fairview” last Nov. 11. Police also recovered two pounds of packaged marijuana during a search of a backpack found in Edward Green’s car,” the story noted.
KATU News in Portland said gun control advocates want the state to limit the number of guns someone can purchase “within a certain timeframe.”
According to the KATU report, the Lift Every Voice Oregon gun control group is backing an initiative petition (IP 17) that would require a permit from police to purchase a firearm. It would also require training and would limit magazine capacity to ten rounds.
The Oregon Firearms Federation is fighting back, the story said, by blaming the surge in gun-related violence to the policies of political leaders in Portland and Salem, the state capitol.
“No amount of new restrictions on the law abiding will have any effect on the carnage. It’s theater. Deadly theater,” OFF said, according to the report.
Would such a scheme even be constitutional? That question may be answered sometime in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case challenging such a law in New York state.
