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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2022)
A8 OREGON East Oregonian Thursday, July 21, 2022 Oregonians to vote on gun control in November By CATALINA GAITÁN The Oregonian SALEM — Oregonians will get to vote on state- wide gun-control legislation this November, the Oregon Secretary of State’s office confirmed Monday, July 18. Initiative Petition 17, also known as the Reduction of Gun Violence Act, earned enough valid signatures to qualify for the election. The petition garnered 131,671 valid signatures, almost 20,000 more than it needed to land on the ballot. The measure would require people to get a permit and pass a background check before buying a gun, and it would prevent the sale of gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Rabbi Michael Cahana of Congregation Beth Israel, one of the initiative’s chief petitioners, said Tuesday he is feeling “very confident” that voters will pass the Dean Guernsey/Bulletin, File A large group rallies June 11, 2022, during March for Our Lives, a gun-violence protest in Bend. An initiative that would require permits and background checks before allowing a gun purchase has qualified for the November ballot. measure in November. “I am not going to be complacent — none of us are,” Cahana said. “We’re working very hard to educate Oregon voters because we know there will be a lot of misinformation. But I know RIVER DEMOCRACY ACT people want to see change.” A caravan of gun-con- trol advocates drove July 8 from Portland to Salem to hand deliver the initiative’s final batch of signatures to the state Capitol. Rev. W.J. Mark Knutson of Augustana Wallowa County Chieftain, File The land around the Imnaha River in Northeastern Oregon would be affected if the waterway is designated as Wild and Scenic under the proposed River Democracy Act. Oregon groups sign letter supporting SB192 WASHINGTON — A plan to protect thousands of miles of rivers and streams in Oregon received renewed attention last week when dozens of organi- zations banded together to encourage politicians to speed up the passage of the bill. Seventy-five organizations across the state sent a joint letter to Oregon Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley urging them to pass the River Democracy Act. The letter is signed mainly by conservation groups and outdoor sporting and fishing organizations. If passed, the bill would add nearly 4,700 miles of rivers and streams in Oregon to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The federal designation, created in 1968, protects rivers and devel- ops them for tourism, just as national parks and national forests protect designated areas of land. Rivers can be listed as having wild, scenic or recreational value. Wyden and Merkley intro- duced the River Democracy Act, Senate Bill 192, in Febru- ary 2021. More than 15,000 streams and rivers were nomi- nated by Oregonians for inclu- sion in the act after Wyden called on state residents to suggest their favorite water- ways in 2019. In Bend, one nomination came from a group of sixth graders at Pacific Crest Middle School. But the bill has its detrac- tors too. In January, U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, spoke out against the act on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, declaring that it will create a wildfire risk in Oregon’s watersheds. Bentz argued that the act puts forests at risk because it allows prescribed burns with- out conducting thinning oper- ations. The American Forest Resources Council, which represents logging interests, is among the groups that defend Bentz’s position. “We continue to oppose the River Democracy Act because it will increase the risk of severe wildfires, threaten our communities, impede public access, and impact multiple uses of public lands,” said Nick Smith, the council’s public affairs director. “Catastrophic wildfires including subse- quent erosion and sedimen- las High School in Parkland, Florida. Support for Initiative Petition 17 started small but grew exponentially this year, skyrocketing from less than 3,000 signatures in March to almost 100,000 three months later. About 1,600 volunteers helped gather signatures across the state. A wave of gun violence, including mass shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, “spurred people to action,” Cahana said. “There was a strong sense that we’ve had for decades now that nothing is going to happen, that things aren’t going to change, and people are fed up. They really want to see substantive change,” he said. “This is how democ- racy works — we actually care and can change our country. We can change the direction, we can turn away from hopelessness, and that just lifts my spirit.” Oregon spent $2.4 million on a digital COVID-19 vaccine card few are using By FEDOR ZARKHIN The Oregonian By MICHAEL KOHN The Bulletin Lutheran Church, also one of the initiative’s chief petition- ers, sat aboard a school bus crowded with volunteers. “Today has to be a day of joy,” Knutson said that day. “Because this will give Oregonians a chance to step out in the nation with the most progressive piece of legislation this year for public safety.” The effort to push for stricter gun laws in Oregon has also led to pushback from pro-gun organizations. In a July 1 statement, the Oregon Firearms Federa- tion said the new permit- ting process required by the measure, which would include completion of a fire- arms safety training and a background check, would be “far more onerous.” The organization on Tuesday asked its support- ers to send their input on the measure to the Oregon Secre- tary of State Shemia Fagan, who will approve the text explaining the initiative on the ballot. L i f t Eve r y Vo i c e Oregon, the lobbying group behind Initiative Petition 17, launched shortly after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Doug- tation pose the greatest threat to watersheds and rivers, and water quantity and quality.” Smith said more manage- ment of federal lands will help reduce wildfire. “Rather than imposing more arbitrary designations and restrictions on federal lands, Oregon’s federal repre- sentatives should focus on giving public lands manag- ers more resources and tools to proactively reduce wild- fire risks, maintain access and protect our forests, rivers, and communities,” said Smith. Wyden’s office has pushed back against the argument that forests will be at a greater risk for fire, stating that the bill requires agencies to imple- ment a fire risk-reduction plan across a half-mile corridor on either side of a river or stream. The letter sent last week was supported by riverkeeper groups, guiding associa- tions, watershed councils and paddling clubs, among others. “Although our groups represent a wide variety of interests, purposes, and people across the state, we all have at least one thing in common — a love of Oregon’s rivers,” stated a portion of the letter. “They provide us with clean drinking water, our favorite swimming holes, and places to take our families fishing and boating.” The designations would add protection for fish, wild- life, clean drinking water and recreation in watersheds including the Deschutes, Metolius, McKenzie and others. The next step for the act is a vote by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Commit- tee, which is chaired by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat. Wyden told The Bulletin that public lands bills tend to get a close look at the end of the year, and he is prepar- ing to have it voted on in the Senate by that time. His office is in communication with Manchin specifically to seek the necessary votes to get the bill passed. “In terms of public lands, we’re going to fairly soon have some mark-ups, where the legislation is formally considered and pulling out all the stops for it,” said Wyden. “We are getting all the small businesses from rural Oregon behind it and we are pleased about the coalition coming together.” SALEM — Oregonians have used the state’s $2.4 million digital COVID-19 vaccine card program only about 50,000 times, far less than people in Washington used their state’s app and at more than twice the cost. Oregon released its vaccine card web appli- cation in late April, with fanfare, providing Orego- nians with a method to obtain digital proof that they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the form of a scannable QR code. In theory, that meant people didn’t have to fear losing their paper vaccine card or fret about forget- ting it at home, while busi- nesses would have an easy and efficient way to confirm patrons’ vaccination status. But whether Orego- nians have decided they don’t need the digital card or simply haven’t heard it is available, it’s clear rela- tively few are opting to use it. As of June 30, about 45,000 Oregonians had downloaded QR codes showing proof of vaccina- tion a total of 50,730 times, with 6,000 repeat users. That amounts to one down- load for every approxi- mately 83 Oregonians, and one download for every 63 Oregonians who have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. That rate is nearly 11 times smaller than what Washington achieved about three months after it made digital vaccine cards avail- able in October. The difference in timing may have made all the difference. By the time Oregon made the vaccine card web application avail- able April 25, COVID-19 restrictions were already being lifted and the state and country were moving psychologically past the pandemic. That, said one national expert on immu- nization information tech systems, may explain why so few people went on to download a QR code. “There was a little more of a COVID focus in the fall and a little bit less in early 2022,” said Mary Beth Kurilo, a senior director at the American Immuniza- tion Registry Association. The Oregon Health Authority, which is respon- sible for the state’s applica- tion, agreed. Washington launched its vaccine card application during a surge in cases while Oregon did not, spokesperson Rudy Owens said in an email. The states also had different vaccine requirements when the tools launched. Oregon officials say how many people actually use a state-issued digital vaccine card is not what matters most. “The download rate isn’t something we are measur- ing as indicative of project success,” Owens said in an email. Instead, Owens said, the agency focused on making the application accessi- ble to as broad a swath of the population as possible, “intentionally” launching it slower than neighboring states as Oregon consulted with the community on how to make the roll out equita- ble and accessible.
