Wednesday, June 13, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 19
High court to consider
gun-control measure
By Andrew Selsky
Associated Press
PORTLAND (AP) — A
proposed ballot measure that
would restrict ownership of
assault weapons and large-
capacity magazines wound up
in the Oregon Supreme Court
after a gun rights proponent
on Wednesday petitioned for a
review of the ballot title, say-
ing it was politically charged
and deceptive.
The state’s high court
received the review one day
before the deadline, said
Phillip Lemman of the Oregon
Judicial Department. The topic
has become incendiary amid
a flood of school shootings,
many of them carried out with
AR-15 semi-automatic assault
rifles.
Backers of the statewide
initiative told a news confer-
ence in a church in Portland,
Oregon, they are ready to
launch a statewide campaign
to gather enough signatures
to put the measure on the
November ballot as soon as the
court finishes its deliberations.
“We want to move for-
ward and give Oregonians
the chance to vote,” said
Pastor Mark Knutson of the
Augustana Lutheran Church,
one of the three chief peti-
tioners. “We are ready. As an
organization we are building
tremendous capacity through-
out the state to get the 88,000
signatures that are required in
the time that we are given, by
July 6.”
The campaigners are count-
ing on the participation of
youth, who protested across
the nation to demand stricter
gun laws, to help gather signa-
tures, and on places of worship.
In his request to the
Supreme Court for a review,
gun rights advocate Roger
Beyer said the ballot language
“uses the politically charged
and emotionally laden words,
‘assault weapons,’ and ‘large
capacity magazines.’ The
description is also misleading,
argumentative, and deceptive
because it implies the measure
applies only to a limited and
belligerent group of ‘assault
weapons’ gun owners.”
The proposed measure,
known as Initiative Petition
43, would go before voters
in the November election if
enough verified signatures are
collected in time. If on the bal-
lot, a “yes” vote would require
registration with the Oregon
State Police of “assault weap-
ons,” defined to include cer-
tain semi-automatic rifles or
pistols with a detachable mag-
azine; pistol or rifles with a
fixed magazine holding more
than 10 rounds of ammunition
and certain semi-automatic
shotguns; and magazines with
a capacity of more than 10
rounds.
Background checks would
also have to be conducted.
Weapons would have to be
disposed of if they’re not reg-
istered. The attorney general’s
office on May 23 issued its
review, edit and approval of
the ballot initiative’s caption,
statement and summary. But
Beyer had issues with it.
“A fair read of IP43 leaves
only one reasonable impres-
sion as to its major effect and
intended purpose, and that
is to criminalize the posses-
sion, purchase or transfer of
most semi-automatic firearms
and their magazines,” Beyer
wrote in his petition with the
Supreme Court.
In the press conference in
Knutson’s church, Knutson
joined with a rabbi and a
Muslim imam to announce that
from Friday, June 29 through
Sunday, July 1, a signature-
gathering campaign will be
launched at churches, syna-
gogues and mosques around
the state — if the Supreme
Court has finished assessing
the request for review.
State law says the court’s
review “shall be conducted
expeditiously” so the signa-
tures can be collected.
The Supreme Court can
either approve the certified
ballot title as-is, rewrite it or
order the attorney general to
make changes.
Your Story
MATTERS
Audry Van Houweling, PMHNP
Columnist
A woman’s desire
for control
One of my goals in
my practice is to heighten
insight and self-awareness
among my clients. Many
of my female clients come
to me with complaints
of feeling overwhelmed,
exhausted, and underappre-
ciated. These symptoms are
often married to perfection-
istic tendencies and attempts
to control the external to
compensate for internal
chaos.
Now for some con-
troversy. When it comes
to control and gender, it
seems that a double stan-
dard exists. Men are often
chastised for seeking con-
trol in a relationship as it
seems akin to emotional
abuse and patriarchy. This
sense of disapproval is war-
ranted; however, I question
whether women are judged
by the same standard. It
seems more acceptable for
a woman to voice emotional
distress over a controlling
man, yet if a man were to
voice his emotional distress
he would need to overcome
a societally reinforced bar-
rier of embarrassment and
defeat.
A man may feel pressure
to acquiesce in order to not
“rock the boat” and conse-
quently, similar to a woman
in the same position, resent-
ment can flourish.
When I ask women —
many of whom laud equal-
ity as a core value — to put
themselves in the shoes of
their partner or children or
inquire whether they would
tolerate the same level of
control from their partner, a
good healthy pause and then
reflection ensues. Ironically,
these women often voice
that their partner is too pas-
sive, yet simultaneously
insist on “doing it all” and
have difficulty delegating
even simple tasks.
A woman’s desire for
control certainly is not
born in a vacuum. Often,
the origins of her control-
ling tendencies are rooted in
trauma. Trauma is an insidi-
ous and almost universal
experience among women.
Taking control and main-
taining order may have been
critical to emotional and
physical survival at times,
which can be a hard pattern
to shake even when emo-
tional and physical safety
are secured. This can leave
well-meaning spouses, chil-
dren, coworkers, and others
in the path of the “control
storm.”
Putting aside individual
experiences, our society
alone perpetuates the persis-
tent unease among women
that “we are not yet good
enough until…” This by
itself can cause a strong fear
of disapproval and ongoing
attempts to control partners,
children, co-workers, food,
appearances, and money,
among other things.
A woman may have
experienced times of chaos
or abuse or dysfunction
that left her feeling desper-
ate for a sense of control.
Micromanaging, demands,
and persistent critique are
often secondary to a sense
of emptiness or internal tur-
moil that fuels uncertainly,
self-doubt, and the need for
external validation, praise,
or a sense of order. In some
cases, a woman experienc-
ing abuse from a spouse or
partner may seek to regain
a sense of power or control
by displacing her anger and
resentment onto her chil-
dren. It comes as no surprise
that the children who have
absorbed emotional impacts
from their mother and father
then also start display-
ing concerning behaviors.
Children may then be chas-
tised, given that they are not
fulfilling desired outcomes
and yet in trying to correct
the behavior, it is only fur-
ther reinforced.
Control is about being
attached to an outcome that
will somehow, per our per-
ception, dissipate fear of
the unknown. Yet despite
our best efforts to plan,
manage, and control, the
unknown will always exist
a minute from now, an hour
from now, tomorrow, and so
on. Letting go of outcomes
is not giving up, but rather
trusting yourself enough to
navigate the unknown —
whatever may come your
way.
Please join us for the 2nd Annual
City of Sisters BBQ
Tuesday, June 19 • 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Smile, Sisters!
We’re committed
to your dental
health!
Exceptional Health,
Prevention & Aesthetics
For Your Family!
Trevor Frideres d.m.d.
Ben Crockett, d.d.s.
p 541-549-9486 f 541-549-9110
410 E. Cascade Ave. • P.O. Box 1027 • Sisters
Hours: Mon., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues.-Wed., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.;
Thurs., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
Sisters City Council l invites you to join them
h for
f a BBQ at City Hall.
l
You will have a chance to meet and talk with your City Councilors,
City Staff, and the folks from Sisters Country Horizons.
We will have hamburgers, hotdogs and all the fixins!
Bring your family and join the fun!
City Hall parking lot | 520 E. Cascade Ave.
