A3
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2019
Oregon passes bill to keep guns from stalkers and abusers
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
SALEM — Democrats
in the state Legislature
pushed through a gun con-
trol bill Thursday after they
sacrifi ced a more sweeping
one — to the ire of student
activists — in a deal with
minority Republicans.
The bill senators passed
25-3 is aimed at keeping
guns out of the hands of
domestic abusers and stalk-
ers. State Sen. Betsy John-
son, D-Scappoose, a fre-
quent opponent of gun
control, voted “no.”
Gov. Kate Brown told
reporters she looks forward
to signing what she called
“the domestic violence bill”
that earlier passed the House.
“We have been able to
make incremental progress
as I have been governor, and
we will continue to do so in
a strategic and thoughtful
manner,” Brown said.
Brown was behind an
agreement to drop legisla-
tion that would have allowed
businesses to raise the fi re-
arms purchasing age from 18
to as high as 21, and require
safe storage of fi rearms.
That deal was struck to
get the minority Republi-
can senators, who were boy-
cotting the Senate to freeze
its activities, back into the
chamber to allow passage of
an education tax bill. Demo-
crats also ditched a bill that
would have limited exemp-
tions for children receiving
immunizations as part of the
agreement.
Students complained that
lawmakers “used our safety
like a bargaining chip.” Con-
cern about school shootings
were heightened after a stu-
dent walked into a Port-
land high school classroom
Oregon Capital Bureau
Students call for action on gun control in Salem.
with a shotgun this month.
The school’s football coach
wrestled the weapon away
as students fl ed.
Brown commended coach
Keanon Lowe, a former Uni-
versity of Oregon star wide
receiver, for “his very self-
less act last week preventing
what I think could have been
a very horrible situation.”
Several student protest-
ers came to the state Capi-
tol on Thursday, but Brown
said she would not be meet-
ing with them.
“But I’m absolutely
thrilled that they’re here in
the building,” she told report-
ers. “I think it’s so critical, if
we’re going to continue to
make progress around fi re-
arm safety, that students
remain engaged.”
The bill closes a loop-
hole that allowed domestic
abusers to hold on to their
fi rearms. House Majority
Leader Jennifer Williamson,
who sponsored the measure,
said a 2015 bill didn’t lay out
exactly how courts would
take away fi rearms. Some
domestic abusers were able
to hold on to their weapons
by avoiding court hearings.
The new bill prohib-
its a person subject to cer-
tain court protective orders
from possessing fi rearms if
the person didn’t request a
hearing, failed to appear for
one or withdrew a hearing
request.
On average, over 45
women in the United States
are shot and killed by inti-
mate partners each month,
according to testimony from
Trish Garner of the Amer-
ican Association of Uni-
versity Women of Oregon.
Roughly 4.5 million women
say an intimate partner has
threatened them with a gun,
she said.
Lift Every Voice Oregon,
an interfaith group that backs
gun control, presented to law-
makers on May 15 a letter
signed by over 150 faith lead-
ers in Oregon supporting gun
control measures, including
the one that was killed.
“Youth have cried out
for an end to gun violence;
in some recent cases, youth
have even felt compelled to
sacrifi ce their lives to save
their classmates,” the group
wrote. “We as adults must do
more to protect them.”
Senate Majority Leader
Ginny Burdick, who spon-
sored the gun measure that
was sacrifi ced, has vowed to
work on gun reform in the
future.
State House passes sweeping changes to juvenile sentencing rules
By DIRK VANDERHART
Oregon Public Broadcasting
The state House on
Thursday passed sweep-
ing changes to sentencing
rules for juvenile offenders,
a dramatic shift to tough-
on-crime guidelines voters
approved 25 years ago.
In a tight vote — held
earlier than expected due
to a speed-up maneuver by
House leadership — repre-
sentatives voted 40-18 for
Senate Bill 1008, the bare
minimum required to pass it.
Before the vote, repre-
sentatives fi rst shot down
two alternative proposals
fl oated by Republicans —
one to modify the bill and
refer it to voters, the other
simply to refer it to voters.
The bill now heads to the
desk of Gov. Kate Brown,
who will sign it.
“Our juvenile system cre-
ates a class of people who
reoffend at a higher rate,”
said state Rep. Jennifer Wil-
liamson, D-Portland, a cen-
tral backer of the sentencing
changes. “It targets our com-
munities of color. My ques-
tion is, ‘What is our respon-
sibility knowing that?’”
SB 1008 eases rules vot-
ers adopted in 1994’s Mea-
sure 11, which set manda-
tory minimum sentences
for a collection of serious
crimes.
Among its most weighty
changes, the bill will ensure
that juveniles 15 years of
age and older aren’t auto-
matically tried as adults for
major crimes such as mur-
der, rape and kidnapping.
Instead, judges will be able
to decide on an individual
basis whether a defendant is
tried as an adult.
The bill also ensures
young offenders aren’t sen-
tenced to life without parole,
makes them eligible for a
parole hearing after serving
half their sentence and cre-
ates a new pathway for cer-
tain defendants to secure
early release rather than
being transferred to the adult
prison system.
After minimal discussion
earlier in this legislative ses-
sion, SB 1008 had become
one of the more contentious
criminal justice bills mov-
ing through the Legislature.
It was the product of more
than a year’s effort by a leg-
islative workgroup.
The changes have support
from a far-ranging swath of
organizations — the ACLU
of Oregon and Koch Indus-
tries are both behind it —
but also from retired judges,
prison guards, the Oregon
Department of Corrections
and Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum. The support has
roots in science that shows
juveniles don’t have fully
developed decision-mak-
ing ability and concerns that
funneling young offenders
to the adult prison system
creates hardened criminals.
“As people who have
worked with these youth,
we know fi rsthand that a
majority of them — when
given the opportunities, sup-
port and guidance — have
the capacity to grow and
become productive mem-
bers of our communities,”
representatives from the
prison guards’ union wrote
the House.
SB 1008 was high-pro-
fi le enough that it was sped
up by House leadership for
a vote in an unusual eve-
ning session Thursday, a
move that required support
for rules to be suspended. It
also got a nod from Repub-
licans; they’ve been work-
ing to slow down action in
the House for several weeks,
but in this case GOP law-
makers agreed to waive a
requirement that the 33-page
bill be read in full prior to a
vote.
Still, the bill is conten-
tious. It rankled prosecu-
tors, who didn’t want judges
to have sole discretion on
which juvenile defendants
were tried as adults. They
argued the legislation should
be changed.
“There is broad consen-
sus that we have to change
Measure 11 for youth,” said
state Rep. Mike McLane,
R-Powell Butte, who put
forth a substitute bill on
behalf of the Oregon Dis-
trict Attorneys Association.
“How to do it reasonable
people disagree.”
Opponents also argued
that the bill should go before
Oregon voters, since they
LEWIS & CLARK
TIMBERLANDS
RECREATIONAL PERMIT
PUBLIC NOTICE
All recreational
activities on
Lewis & Clark
Timberlands
require a no
fee recreational
permit.
To acquire a permit:
Go online to GreenWoodresources.com and click
on Recreational Access, or Scan the QR code using
your smartphone at one of our access gate signs. Call
503.755.6655 for recorded information for Oregon
timberlands and 509.780.0865 for recorded information
for Washington timberlands. Washington permits will be
available beginning 6/01/2019.
Our goal is to provide a quality recreational experience
while improving communications with our timberland visitors.
Back by Popular Demand
KARMA MATS
Repurposed from
Commercial Fishing Lines
Imbued with Great Fish Karma
Handcrafted by Greg Neitzel
Available at the
Astoria Sunday Market
May 26 th
approved Measure 11 in
the fi rst place. But the bill’s
backers pointed out that,
the same year Measure 11
passed, voters also approved
Measure 10, which allowed
lawmakers to alter the
rules if they secured a two-
thirds vote in the House and
Senate.
WANTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
SEASIDE AMERICAN LEGION
1315 BROADWAY • SEASIDE, OR • 503.738.5111
SATURDAY • JUNE 8 TH • 2019
Dinners served between 4 pm & 8 pm
7 th Annual New England
Live
Lobster Fest
-Advance tickets sales only-
$
(150 available)
Lobster Dinner
29
$
New York Strip Dinner 20
Live music - Country N’ Rock “Alena”
PUBLIC EVENT! EVERYONE IS WELCOME.
Fundraiser supports Veterans & Seaside Community
Happy
th
Birthday
Dorothy Myers
Love, Lisa, Daryl, Jackie, Thomas & James