FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Editorial —
Our
Representative
Republic
Whenever any group of citizens dis-
likes a new State law or City ordinance,
we hear the same phrase repeated again
and again: “Why didn’t we get to vote
on this?”
Most recently, for example, we
received messages stating—and we’re
tightly paraphrasing here, “Why did City
Council vote instead of we the people?
Why didn’t we get to vote on that mari-
juana ordinance?”
The answer is that you did—indirectly.
America, like most states and cities,
is not a direct democracy, contrary to
popular belief these days. This edito-
rial may seem to some like a lesson in
middle school Civics, but we’re a Repre-
sentative Republic. We want to hammer
this point home because so often the
structure of our political system is mis-
understood, its positives lost behind the
arguing of single, hot-button issues.
In a direct democracy, elected officials
wouldn’t exist for the most part. Every
issue would hit a ballot, meaning voters
would be receiving a deluge of ballots in
the mail throughout the year, and a 51%
majority would prevail on any issue. A
direct democracy in a nation our size
would be unwieldy, cumbersome and too
often tarnished by mob rule.
This simply isn’t the way our system
is set up.
In a representative republic like
America, we vote for officials to take
elected positions that represent us. Then,
on our behalf, these men and women
whom we’ve determined to best reflect
our interests and ideologies, argue for
us, their constituents. They cast their
votes on issues as our representatives.
James Madison writes in The Federal-
ist, “As there is a degree of depravity
in mankind which requires a certain
degree of circumspection and distrust:
So there are other qualities in human
nature, which justify a certain portion
of esteem and confidence. Republican
government (that of a Republic) presup-
poses the existence of these qualities in a
higher degree than any other form. Were
the pictures which have been drawn by
the political jealousy of some among us,
faithful likenesses of the human char-
acter, the inference would be that there
is not sufficient virtue among men for
self government; and that nothing less
than the chains of despotism can restrain
them from destroying and devouring one
another.”
Our founding fathers and Consti-
tutional framers gave quite a bit of
thought to human nature. Because of this
wisdom, in our representative republic
the government was therefore created
as Constitutionally limited with powers
divided between three separate branches:
Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
Within each state inside that Republic
exists the same branches.
Elections count within this system of
checks and balances—of indirect votes
and representation. Your votes matter.
Those who don’t like the outcome on
laws and issues should become involved
in the process and help elect the officials
who best represent your views.
Our system isn’t perfect, but if you
participate, you help shape your own
government one vote at a time.
—The Baker County Press Editorial Board
— Letters to the Editor —
USFS ignores public sentiment
To the Editor:
For us dealing with the forest service
for the past fifteen years, on a nearly daily
basis, this action is well past due. It be-
comes more apparent every day since the
Travel Management Plan, was withdrawn
two years ago.
Nearly as disappointing—the press. In
eastern Oregon, I find it hard to believe
anyone on the staff of the newspapers can
print these misleading forest service press
releases as breaking news. Intentional
misleading the people in regards to roads
closures is blatant propaganda coming
from the USFS at this time
It is not news the TMP, is on hold.
(How many roads have been closed dur-
ing this so called pause?) Nothing has
changed since it was shot down two years
ago. Insinuating this is a new develop-
ment, once again, rightly confirms the lack
of confidence we have in the forest service
being capable of speaking forthright.
Press release from Mr. Peña, March
19, 2015, “It is my expectation that all
three forests(including the Umatilla) will
continue to address natural resource con-
cerns and public access need as a part of
ongoing project level decisions and forest
restoration projects.” What we know from
this statement, road closures will occur in
these projects providing a backdoor for
closures. Bartering of roads to escape
litigation is common anti at the table of
collaboration. Travel Management is not
on the burner but is cooking under the
guise of every single project in the Blue
Mountain Forests.
The forest service has a problem and
it’s time to own up. This agency, was
forced to withdraw a TMP, then was
confronted last fall with the problem of
11 counties withdrawing support for the
agencies proposed Blue Mountain Forest
Plan. Still, yes still they continue down
a road of ignoring public sentiment. In-
tentionally disregarding the message and
presenting the illusion of public engage-
ment.
A question plagues me, “Why are the
forests in such miserable condition?”
Wanda Ballard
Baker City
Sheriff’s office handled
Huntington situation well
To the Editor:
I was favorably impressed with the
common-sense handling of the recent
disturbance in Huntington involving the
local Sheriff’s Department. Your reporter
Eileen Driver set out the story in details,
which supported the professional and lev-
el-headed conduct of Deputy Hoopes and
Interim Sheriff Ash, and others involved.
At a time when the news of the nation
is dominated by a deliberate media-insti-
gated blitz of horror stories of militarized
police buildups and unjustified atrocities
against citizens, and of court decisions
appearing to condone unconstitutional due
process rights violations by police, it is
understandable that the entire brotherhood
of law enforcement would adopt a warlike
attitude of “us against them.”
The recent Huntington event was surely
a test of relations between our Sheriff and
the people, and happily it did not reveal
support of the much-publicized typical
SWAT mentality of kicking down doors,
shooting the family pet, lobbing danger-
ous stun grenades, and shooting anybody
not seeming to cooperate—just to serve a
warrant that is likely defective.
We approve of the reasonable response
taken by our Sheriff, and are reminded
that these Deputies are our neighbors and
friends. They are not our enemies. Foreign
troops on our soil and mercenaries sup-
porting Agenda 21/NWO and federal
agents knowingly operating outside of
their Constitutional jurisdiction and au-
thority are the real enemies of the people.
Jim Iler,
Oath Keeper
Baker City
— Guest Opinion —
Latest gun
rights grab
must stop
By Kevin Starrett
Special to The Baker County Press
The latest push for universal gun
owner registration, (SB 941) in the
guise of “background checks,” has been
much in the news recently. Oregon’s
most outspoken opponents of gun rights
have once again created legislation that
would require law abiding Oregonians
to request police permission to trade,
sell or give guns to other law abiding
Oregonians.
One could easily attack this effort on
purely philosophical grounds. What
other rights would you be willing to
subjugate to the whims of the state’s
permission? Your right to practice the
religion of your choice? Your right to
write a letter to the editor? Your right to
associate with whom you choose?(Ok,
that’s already illegal.)
But on a far more practical level, the
real problem with the expansion of the
requirement to ask for the permission
of the police to exercise a right is the
fact that the background check system
simply does not work.
As Director of the Oregon Firearms
Federation, hardly a day goes by that I
am not contacted by someone who has
been denied a firearm s transfer simply
because the state database is faulty.
While that would certainly be an incon-
venience and irritation to many, imagine
being a woman living alone in fear of
a stalker or other violent predator. The
only protection you have is piece of
paper marked “restraining order” and
the promise the police may arrive in 15
minutes should you be lucky enough to
be attacked in your home near a tele-
phone. Now the faulty database could
cost you your life.
SB 941 is even worse in some respects
than previous year’s versions of the
bill. SB 941 does not even allow you to
conduct a background check yourself,
something currently allowed by law
should you choose to do it. Now, all
private transfers to non family members
must be conducted through a licensed
dealer who may charge whatever fee he
wants to, if he is even interested in the
hassle.
There is no provision in the bill to deal
with a “delay,” something that happens
with alarming frequency due to the poor
condition of the State Police database.
Delays can take weeks or even months.
But to make matters even worse, the
numbers provided by the Oregon State
Police make it clear that background
check system legislators want to expand
is not even used to prevent criminals
from getting guns. For all the false and
bloated statistics provided by anti-gun
groups, it is extremely rare for a prohib-
ited person to be prevented from getting
Submitted Photo
Kevin Starrett is the director of
the Oregon Firearms Federation,
a state wide, no-compromise gun
rights organization founded in 1998.
Kevin was born and raised in New
York City and saw first hand the
damage that attacks on gun rights
can do. He is determined not to
allow those kinds of attacks to suc-
ceed in Oregon.
a gun because of background checks.
While most people who are denied are
denied in error, (and now it’s their prob-
lem to prove their innocence) the tiny
numbers who are actually identified as
felons, or mental defectives are virtually
never arrested or prosecuted.
In September of 2014, 136 people
(0.73% of the total transactions) were
denied transfers. The number of “fel-
ons” arrested? Two.
Of the 15 people who actively “want-
ed” the number arrested was four.
In October of 2014, 196 people were
denied out of 19,901 total transfers. The
number of felons arrested? Not a single
one.
Eight people were denied for “mental
health” reasons. None were taken into
custody.
In November of 2014, 203 people
were denied firearms transfers. Of those,
149 were identified by the police as
“prohibited persons” or felons. The
number of those arrested? A grand total
of one.
Clearly all the other “bad guys” who
were denied transfers at that time and
place were free to leave and obtain guns
elsewhere. So the figures thrown around
by the gun control crowd are meaning-
less. But the fact is, far too many of
those people should never have been
denied in the first place.
In every case, a Kitzhaber mandate
has required an Oregon State Trooper
to leave patrol to conduct an “investiga-
tion.” Time after time those troopers
have no idea why they are being sent to
investigate people who have done noth-
ing wrong. Just imagine when this failed
system is extended to when you want to
give a gun to someone you’ve known
your whole life.
Similar legislation was passed in
Washington by ballot measure. It has
proven to be an unenforceable bureau-
cratic nightmare.
Let’s not make the same mistake in
Oregon.
— Contact Us —
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Editor@TheBakerCountyPress.com
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Copyright © 2014
YOUR ELECTED
OFFICIALS
President Barack Obama
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Whitehouse.gov/contact
US Sen. Jeff Merkley
503.326.3386
503.326.2900 fax
Merkley.Senate.gov
US Sen. Ron Wyden
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Wyden.Senate.gov
US Rep. Greg Walden
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541.624.2402 fax
Walden.House.gov
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown
503.378.3111
Governor.Oregon.gov
State Rep. Cliff Bentz
503.986.1460
State Sen. Ted Ferrioli
541.490.6528
Baker County
Commissioners Bill Harvey;
Mark Bennett; Tim Kerns
541.523.8200
541.523.8201