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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2021)
Community June 3 2021 Columbia County Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance Comes Under Legal Scrutiny County submits ordinance for judicial examination and judgment; citizens, gun safety advocates, and Attorney General question validity, as state legislature approves gun control laws The Columbia County Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance, re- cently adopted by the Columbia Coun- ty Board of Commissioners, is facing a number of questions and challenges, including the first court test of whether local governments can ban police from enforcing certain gun laws. Columbia County voters ap- proved Measure 5-270, the “Second Amendment Preservation Ordinance” in 2018 and then added penalties when they approved Measure 5-278 “Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance” in 2020. The second Sanctuary Ordi- nance was narrowly approved by vot- ers in November of 2020 by just over 500 votes out of 30,000 votes cast and then adopted by the Board of County Commissioners as Ordinance 2021-1. It forbids local officials from enforc- ing most federal and state gun laws and could impose thousands of dollars in fines on anyone who tries. Meanwhile, the Oregon Legis- lature moved forward with gun control legislation on May 5 with the Senate’s 17-7 vote for the passage of the House revised Senate Bill 554, which com- bines requirements to secure firearm with trigger or cable lock, in locked container or in gun room except in specified circumstances, with a nar- rowed ban on concealed-handgun li- cense holders bringing firearms into some public places, notably the Capi- tol and the Portland airport. Senator Betsy Johnson was the lone Demo- crat to join six Republicans in voting against the bill; the House passed the bill 34-24 with three Democrats join- ing 21 Republicans in voting against it; Democratic Representative Brad Witt voted in favor. The bill is still waiting to be signed into law by Governor Kate Brown, and would make Oregon the 12 th state with some form of require- ments for locks and safe storage of fire- arms. Second Amendment sanctu- ary resolutions have been adopted by over 1,200 local governments in states around the U.S., including Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Illi- nois, and Florida. While many are sym- bolic, some, like Columbia County’s, carry legal force. Columbia County’s ordinance would ban the enforcement of laws like background check require- ments and restrictions on carrying a gun, though it would have exceptions for others, including keeping firearms from convicted felons. 25 out of Oregon’s 36 coun- ties, plus three cities, have adopted Second Amendment sanctuary, or other pro-Second Amendment, resolutions. During the 2020 election cycle, judges in both Grant and Harney counties con- cluded that initiative petitions nearly identical to the one narrowly passed in Columbia County were unconstitu- tional and ruled those initiatives could not be placed on the ballot. Clatsop County’s District Attorney publicly criticized as unconstitutional a nearly identical measure that was rejected by Clatsop County voters. Four residents of Columbia County joined the legal proceedings on April 29 by filing court documents against the County, arguing that the measure is unconstitutional and vio- lates both federal and Oregon law, and asking the court to invalidate Ordi- nance 2021-1. On April 30, 2021 Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum weighed in on the situation in Colum- bia County in a brief filed in Circuit Court, stating both the measure passed by voters and the ordinance adopted by the County are invalid, because “they conflict with and are incompatible with the State’s criminal laws, the duties of the Columbia County Sheriff, the duties of the Columbia County District Attor- ney, and the duties of other officers and departments of Columbia County.” Columbia County has now passed the case to Judge Ted Grove for ‘Judicial Examination and Judgement 3 Publisher and Managing Editor Scott Laird 503-367-0098 scott@vernoniasvoice.com Want to advertise? Have an article? Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com Photography Scott Laird Contributors Shannon Romtvedt Representative Brad Witt One year subscription (24 issues) $35 Vernonia’s Voice, LLC PO Box 55 Vernonia, OR 97064 503-367-0098 Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 1 st and 3 rd Thursday of each month. 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