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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 Appeals court upholds ban on gun sales to marijuana card holders Ruling applies in Oregon and Washington state By SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — A federal government ban on the sale of guns to medical mari- juana card holders does not violate the Second Amend- ment, a federal appeals court said Wednesday. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals applies to the nine Western states that fall under the court’s jurisdiction, including Cali- fornia, Washington state and Oregon. It came in a lawsuit iled by S. Rowan Wilson, a Nevada woman who said she tried to buy a irearm for self-defense in 2011 after obtaining a med- ical marijuana card. The gun store refused, citing the federal rule banning the sale of ire- arms to illegal drug users. Marijuana remains ille- gal under federal law, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo- sives has told gun sellers they can assume a person with a medical marijuana card uses the drug. The 9th Circuit in its 3-0 decision said Congress reason- ably concluded that marijuana and other drug use “raises the risk of irrational or unpredict- able behavior with which gun use should not be associated.” The court also concluded that it’s reasonable for federal regulators to assume a medi- cal marijuana card holder was more likely to use the drug. Wilson’s attorney, Chaz Rainey, said there needs to be more consistency in the appli- cation of the Second Amend- ment. He planned to appeal. “We live in a world where having a medical marijuana card is enough to say you don’t get a gun, but if you’re on the no ly list your constitutional right is still protected,” he said. The 9th Circuit also rejected other constitutional challenges to the ban that were raised by Wilson, including her argu- ment that her gun rights were being stripped without due process. Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Orga- nization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said the idea that marijuana users were more prone to violence is a fallacy. “Responsible adults who use cannabis in a manner that is compliant with the laws of their states ought to receive the same legal rights and pro- tections as other citizens,” he said. Warrenton bicycle thief gets two years in prison Trio stole from campgrounds By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian One of the three Warren- ton men accused of steal- ing more than a dozen bicy- cles in July from visitors at Fort Stevens State Park and the KOA campground was sentenced to two years in prison. Devin Corey Gerou, 19, pleaded no contest to first-degree theft Tuesday in Clatsop County Circuit Court. Gerou also pleaded no contest to previous theft and burglary cases. The sentences for each case ran together, totaling two years. Warrenton Police received multiple reports in July of stolen bicycles from the local campgrounds. None of the bicycles were locked or secured. Officers increased patrols, and initially found five of the bicycles at one location in Warrenton. Police were able to iden- tify the three suspects: Gerou; Jacob Martin Kitz- man, 24; and John Michael Lafreniere, 26. The three permission. were arrested and booked In March, Gerou burglar- July 31. ized a residence on the 500 Police recovered nearly block of N.W. First Street in 15 stolen bicycles, val- Warrenton. ued at $8,000 Last November, to $10,000, and Gerou attempted returned several to elude police to their owners. and recklessly Some of the bicy- endangered Kitz- cles had already man and another been dismantled, person. had parts or acces- As part of his sories removed, sentence, Gerou and one had been is ordered to pay repainted a differ- more than $8,350 Devin Corey ent color, accord- in restitution to Gerou ing to police. the victims in his Police found various criminal many of the bicycles at a cases. During his incarcera- residence on U.S. High- tion, Gerou is being recom- way 101 just south of War- mended for substance abuse renton. A stolen motorcycle treatment. was also recovered. Kitzman and Lafre- On July 12 — before niere are both charged with stealing the bicycles from first-degree theft. Kitz- the campgrounds — Gerou man has a criminal history burglarized a residence on that includes convictions the 600 block of S. Main of theft, assault and driv- Street in Warrenton, stole ing under the influence of a Yamaha YZ250 motorcy- intoxicants. Lafreniere was cle and attempted to elude charged earlier this year for police. theft, burglary, menacing In May, Gerou broke into and disorderly conduct. a residence on the 92000 Both are in custody in block of Fort Clatsop Road Clatsop County Jail, and in Astoria and rode off on due back in court Fri- a Kawasaki Side X Side day for early resolution ATV without the owner’s conferences. Public records reform could spark new suits without supermajority Governments could sue over new mandate By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — The state will face more lawsuits from local governments if lawmakers pass public records reform in 2017 without a supermajor- ity vote, according to a lob- byist who represents county governments. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has submitted draft legislation that would for the irst time set a dead- line for public bodies to respond to records requests. The bill gives public bodies 10 business days to furnish requested records, with cer- tain exceptions. Rob Bovett, a lobbyist for the Association of Oregon Counties, said some county oficials might see that dead- line as an unfunded mandate because they might have to pay overtime or hire people to meet the deadline. Some counties have “grown increasingly frus- trated with the regularly unfunded mandates” from lawmakers, Bovett said. “They’re not taking it any- more; they’re actually suing, so it’s a different universe,” he said. Nine counties in May iled a lawsuit against the state alleging that a require- ment to give 40 hours of paid sick leave to employees is an unfunded mandate. NEWPORT — State ofi- cials are advising the public to avoid contact with water along the Oregon Coast at Newport’s Nye Beach and nearby water- ways after high levels of fecal bacteria were detected. The Oregonian/Oregon- Live reported the health advi- sory issued Wednesday says children and older adults are at the greatest risk for contract- ing diarrhea, stomach cramps, skin rashes, upper respiratory infections and other illnesses if infected. The Oregon Health Author- ity says the origin of the increased pathogen and fecal bacteria could include shore and inland sources, includ- ing stormwater runoff, sewer overlows, failing septic sys- tems and animal waste from livestock, pets and wildlife. State and Lincoln County oficials say recreational activ- ities on the beach remain safe. Oficials did not pre- dict how long the alert would remain in effect. Oregon location eliminated in search for geothermal lab site Associated Press BEND — A site near Ore- gon’s Newberry Volcano is no longer in the running for a federal enhanced geothermal research laboratory. The Bulletin reported that the Wednesday decision by the U.S. Department of Energy left sites in Utah and Nevada competing for the lab. The department put $29 million into research by a Sandia National Laborato- ries team in Fallon, Nevada, and the University of Utah’s team in Milford, Utah. The investment is meant to help the organizations prepare for an underground geothermal research lab. Developers and research- ers in Central Oregon say they are surprised and dis- appointed that the Newberry Geothermal Energy site didn’t make it to the next round. The location near the vol- cano was leased by Seat- tle-based AltaRock Energy Inc. The lawsuit is based on a 1996 amendment to the Ore- gon Constitution that requires lawmakers to reimburse local governments when new requirements with a is- cal impact are adopted with- out supermajority support. In Oregon, three-ifths of the members of the House and Senate must vote in favor to make a supermajority. “In order to avoid getting struck down as unconstitu- tional, we need to have this bill go through the Legisla- ture by overwhelming major- ities, so we have to build con- sensus on this,” Bovett said. “Otherwise, we are going to be litigating pieces of this as an unfunded mandate.” Bovett made the com- ments during a discussion Wednesday about possi- ble changes to the bill. Lob- byists who represent local governments asked Rosen- blum Wednesday to revise the bill to give public bodies 15 business days to provide requested records. Michael Kron, special counsel to the attorney gen- eral, said some of the revi- sions to the bill will include the longer 15-day deadline but also language to empha- size records should be pro- vided as soon as possible. The legislation stemmed from the work of the attorney general’s task force on pub- lic records law reform, which included local government interest groups and journalist groups. “It was a consensus com- promise,” Rosenblum said of the revisions. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Buoy 10 salmon ishery extended The Daily Astorian Recreational anglers will get more time to har- vest Chinook salmon at the mouth of the Columbia River. The Buoy 10 Chinook salmon fishery had been expected to close Tuesday. But catch rates at 45 per- cent of what was forecasted prompted fisheries man- agers to extend the season through Sept. 14. Reten- tion of coho and steelhead is scheduled to remain open through December. The fishery runs from Buoy 10 at the mouth of the Columbia upstream to Tongue Point. The daily bag limit is two salmon a day. Only one may be a Chinook, which must be at least 24 inches long to keep. Up to one steelhead or two coho per day can be kept. Coho must be at least 16 inches long. FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED Oficials advise no contact with ocean water in Newport Associated Press Paris Achen/Capital Bureau Rob Bovett, a lobbyist for the Association of Oregon Counties, said unless passed by a supermajority in the Legislature, public records reforms could be viewed by counties as an unfunded mandate prohibited by the Or- egon Constitution. HURRY IN FOR INCREDIBLE DEALS AND SAVINGS! 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