NRA refuses to oppose bill that supports federal gun grab!

SALEM, Oregon - June 2, 2009 - HB 2853, a bill to force Oregon into compliance with the Brady Campaign/National Rifle Association (NRA) sponsored gun control bill, HR 2640, passed out of the House Rules Committee today.

Only one member of the committee, Bill Garrard, voted no.

Although several members of the committee expressed concerns about the possible effects of the bill, with the exception of Garrard they all voted to send it to the House floor with a subsequent referral to the Ways and Means Committee.

The NRA’s Oregon consultant, who had previously expressed opposition to the bill, changed his position and declared the NRA neutral on the bill.

We now move one step closer to the complete big brother, centrally located, Federal database of people who will be denied gun purchases.

Because of your efforts, the language in the bill has changed considerably, but the outcome will be the same. Sensitive and possibly incorrect information will be forwarded to the Obama controlled FBI. Should your information be incorrect and you either move out of state or attempt an out-of-state purchase, you will then be required to seek relief from an onerous and complicated federal system. You better have plenty of time on your hands.

We have no reason to believe that any member of the House Rules Committee has actually read the federal law they agreed to comply with. Regardless, it is important to note that a major component to this bill comes down to money.

If Oregon agrees to capitulate and comply with the NRA’s latest gun control scheme, the federal government has promised to send us money. In these difficult times, money, it seems, really does talk.

That is unfortunate. The federal law was passed in response to the Virginia Tech murders. But everyone agrees that neither the federal law, nor this Oregon bill, had they been in effect at the time of the murders, would have made the slightest difference.

Furthermore, this bill seeks to identify people who are a “danger to themselves or others.” It’s impossible to avoid asking the obvious question. If someone is a danger to himself or others, why are they walking the streets, where, even if they are magically denied firearms (a fairy tale, of course) they still can acquire knives, baseball bats, gasoline and automobiles?

The bill now moves to the full House. It is then scheduled to go to the Ways and Means Committee. From there it could go to another Senate Committee and then to the full Senate. So as you can see, now would not be the time to give up on killing this expansion of a failed gun control scheme.

The next stop is the full House. Please contact your Oregon House Representative and tell him or her that the promise of federal money should not be the motivation for passing a bill with so many unknown ramifications. A sample message follows:

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Dear Representative,

HB 2853 will soon be before you on the House floor. This bill was written to guarantee that Oregon would get some federal dollars by complying with a federal mandate to turn over mental health records to the FBI. I would strongly urge you to read the federal legislation before you agree to force Oregon to capitulate to federal mandates. I think if you do, you will see that the federal law is complicated, subject to many interpretations, and prone to abuse. Please vote “no” on HB 2853.

Sincerely yours,