4A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • JANUARY 30, 2019
The First Amendment
O PINION
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridg-
ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition their
Government for a redress of greivences.
Letters to the Editor Policy
Th e Sentinel welcomes letters to the editor as part of
a community discussion of issues on the local, state
and national level.
Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed
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Political/Election Letters:
Proposed bill is really Portland-area-politics gun grab
(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submissions on
this and other topics are always welcome as
part of our goal to encourage community
discussion and exchange of perspectives.)
Senate Bill 501, sponsored by
Senator Rob Wagner of Tualatin and
Representative Andrea Salinas of Lake
Oswego, is a bill that all supporters
of the Second Amendment should
oppose.
Th is bill is clearly an attempt to ram
big-city, Portland-area ideas on gun
control down the throats of rural Ore-
gonians. Th is bill would, among other
things, require law-abiding Orego-
nians to petition a politician (such as
the county sheriff ) for a permit before
being allowed to exercise their Con-
stitutional right to purchase a fi rearm
under the Second Amendment.
Should the sheriff decide to grant the
request, he or she could then charge a
“reasonable fee” for this permit.
One can only imagine what will
inevitably become the ever-increas-
ing cost of these “reasonable fees.”
Law-abiding Oregon residents who are
of sound mind and otherwise legally
permitted to own a fi rearm should
not have to petition elected offi cials to
purchase one.
I can see no rational nexus between
this foolish and ill-advised bill and any
measurable reduction in gun violence.
It appears to me to simply be another
power grab by Portland-area politi-
Guest Viewpoint
By Stan Easter
Cottage Grove
cians. Keep in mind that in most cases
background checks are already manda-
tory for gun purchases.
So under this new proposal, even if
you can pass a background check, you
would still have to petition an elected
offi cial to do what you have a legal
right to do.
In short, this bill does not target
criminals, only the law abiding.
Additionally, the bill prohibits
law-abiding Oregonians from purchas-
ing more than 20 rounds of ammuni-
tion per month. When my stepson, my
wife and I go to the range to practice
shooting, we typically fi re a few hun-
dred rounds minimum.
Th is law would render an enjoyable,
family based activity nearly impossible.
Th e bill also mandates a background
check to purchase ammunition. Can
you imagine how impossible it will
be to have background checks done
through an already overburdened
system if this law goes into eff ect?
Not to mention how the costs of these
background checks will certainly over
burden many low- and middle-income
families.
SB 501 also bans “high capacity
magazines,” which the bill defi nes as
“any magazine holding more than 5
rounds.”
Th is is sheer nonsense. Talk to
any group of experienced, trained,
law-abiding shooters and they will tell
you that a "high capacity" magazine is
one that holds more than 30 rounds.
In fact, 20- or 30-round magazines
are considered by most to be “standard
capacity” magazines.
I will be contacting State Senator
Arnie Roblan and State Representative
Caddy McKeown to express my op-
position to this bill, and I hope others
will too.
I’m sure that gun grabbers are fl ood-
ing state representatives’ offi ces with
letters in favor of this power grab .
LETTER
Nothing but good things
to say about hospital
My husband went to the
walk-in clinic at Cottage
Grove Hospital but it was
too full, so he was told to go
to the E.R., which he did.
He was admitted to the
hospital to receive care for
kidney and heart conditions.
It was so comforting to be
there because it was like
being at home. Th e nurses
greeted us with smiles and
words of recognition. We felt
safe and cared for.
Th e nurses and Dr. Hadtke
were great about discussing
my husband's condition and
including me in what was
being done for him.
Two volunteers were pos-
itive encouragers Th ey were
so helpful with providing a
wheelchair from the car to
the doctor's offi ces. Jeanne
and Caroline are valuable
volunteers.
My husband and I have
nothing but positive things
to say about Cottage Grove
Hospital for the last 15 years
of care there.
—Karon Hills
Cottage Grove
Election-related letters must address pertinent or
timely issues of interest to our readers at-large.
Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing
campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure
any information about a candidate is accurate, fair
and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay;
and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates
based on personal experience and perspective rather
than partisanship and campaign-style rhetoric.
Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the
editor column to outline their views and platforms
or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political
advertising.
As with all letters and advertising content, the
newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher,
general manager and editor, reserves the right to
reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria.
Send letters to:
nhickson@cgsentinel.com or cmay@cgsentinel.com
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
Oregon federal
representatives
• Sen. Floyd Prozanski
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, Ore. 97440
Phone: 541-342-2447
Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@
state.or.us
• Rep. Cedric Hayden
Republican District 7 State
Representative
900 Court St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301
Phone: 503-986-1407
Website: www.leg.state.or.
us/hayden
Email: rep.cedrichayden@
state.or.us
• Rep. Peter DeFazio
(House of Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: defazio.house.gov/
contact/email-peter
Phone: 541-465-6732
• Sen. Ron Wyden
405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: wyden.senate.gov
Phone: (541) 431-0229
• Sen. Jeff Merkley
Email: merkley.senate.gov
Phone: 541-465-6750
C ottage G rove
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