BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2021
Oregon attorney general joins legal
tussle over gun rights ordinance
■ Topic is Second Amendment Sanctuary ordinance passed in Columbia County
By Anna Del Savio
Pamplin Media Group
Oregon’s attorney general and a group
of Columbia County residents are getting
involved in the ongoing legal proceedings
over the county’s Second Amendment
Sanctuary Ordinance.
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum,
through senior assistant attorney general
Brian Simmonds Marshall, fi led a docu-
ment in the case, requesting that the
ordinance be declared invalid.
Rosenblum wrote that the county ordi-
nance and the two ballot measures it was
based on “confl ict with and are incompat-
ible with the state’s criminal laws … the
duties of the Columbia County sheriff, the
duties of the Columbia County district at-
torney, and the duties of other offers and
departments of Columbia County.”
Four Columbia County residents also
fi led to appear as “interested parties”
in opposition to the ordinance. The
four residents are Brandee Dudzic, a
2020 candidate for the county board of
commissioners; Shana Cavanaugh, the
founder of the progressive group Moving
Forward Columbia County; Robert Pile, a
member of the gun control organization
Moms Demand Action; and Joe Lewis, a
former Scappoose School Board member
who was one of nine people injured at the
Kent State shooting in 1970, when Ohio
National Guard members fatally shot
four people protesting the Vietnam War.
The four are represented by attorneys
from the Oregon fi rm Stoll Berne, but
are asking the court to allow two New
York-based attorneys to join the case.
The attorneys, Mark Weiner and Len
Kamdang, are with Everytown Law, the
litigation arm of the gun control nonprofi t
Everytown for Gun Safety.
“We have a range of opinions in Colum-
bia County on many issues, including gun
laws, but tying the hands of law enforce-
ment offi cials here in Columbia County
is not the answer,” Pile said in a press
release from Everytown Law.
Eric Tirschwell, managing director for
Everytown Law, said in a press release
that Oregon law and the U.S. constitu-
tion “make clear that local governments
don’t have the legal authority to pick and
choose which public safety laws apply
within their borders.”
“Groups that oppose state and federal
gun laws have every right to try to change
them in the statehouse and Congress, but
claiming to nullify them at the local level
is both unconstitutional and dangerous.
That’s not how our democracy works,”
Tirschwell said.
In a Jan. 21 letter to Columbia County
attorney Sarah Hanson, attorneys from
Stoll Berne and Everytown Law argued
that the county ordinance was not per-
missible under state and federal law and
recommended that the county use the
state’s procedure for judicial validation
proceedings.
Chris Brumbles, a Columbia County
resident and gun rights activist who fi led
both ballot measures, said that he dis-
agrees with the county’s choice to pursue
judicial validation.
“I think they did this so that they could
get it in front of a judge, so the judge
could throw it out. I hope I’m wrong. I’ve
never hoped I was wrong more,” Brum-
bles said.
“As far as I’m concerned, this is a
huge attack on the will of the people.
The people voted these laws in not once,
but twice,” Brumbles added. “If this was
happening to the other side, I think there
would be an uproar.”
As of May 7, the county hasn’t fi led any
briefs in support of or in opposition to the
ordinance.
The petition for judicial validation fi led
by the county in late March did not ask
for a particular verdict. Instead, it laid
out the issues to consider in evaluating
the legality and constitutionality of the
ordinance.
Voters approved a version of the Sec-
ond Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance
last year. The ordinance would effectively
bar local law enforcement from enforcing
almost any restrictions on gun sales or
ownership within Columbia County.
Idaho governor repeals ban on mask
mandates set by lieutenant governor
committee chairman declined
to give it a hearing.
Little has stated his goal
throughout the pandemic
has been to balance the
safety and health of Idaho
residents with economic con-
cerns. Idaho has rebounded
economically much faster
than other states, with an
unemployment rate now of
just over 3%, approaching
pre-pandemic levels.
By Keith Ridler
Associated Press
BOISE — Idaho Gov. Brad
Little on Friday, May 28 issued
an executive order repealing
a 24-hour-old mask-mandate
prohibition put in place while
he was out of the state by the
lieutenant governor, describ-
ing her actions as a tyrannical
abuse of power and an “irre-
sponsible, self-serving political
stunt.”
The Republican governor up
to now had been reserved in
his comments about Republi-
can Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin,
a member of the far-right who
has worked to undermine
Little’s handling of the corona-
virus pandemic.
McGeachin last week an-
nounced her run for governor,
challenging the fi rst-term
incumbent Little.
Her executive order Thurs-
day, May 27 banning mask
mandates in schools and public
buildings is widely seen as
part of that campaign. And she
is already using her nullifi ed
executive order in fundraising
efforts.
Little has never issued a
statewide mask mandate,
though he has worn a mask
and encouraged others to do so
to slow the spread of the virus.
Some Idaho counties, cities
and schools have issued their
own mask mandates but many
have been lifted as more Idaho
residents have been vaccinat-
ed. Two counties and 10 cities
still have them in place, as do
multiple schools.
About 590,000 of Idaho’s 1.8
million residents have been
vaccinated. State offi cials have
reported that the virus has
killed more than 2,000 people
in the state and sickened some
190,000.
“I have opposed a state-
wide mask mandate all
along because I don’t think
top-down mandates change
behavior the way personal
choice does,” Little said in a
statement about his repeal of
McGeachin’s order.
Little added: “But, as your
Governor, when it came to
masks, I also didn’t undermine
separately elected offi cials who,
under Idaho law, are given
authorities to take measures
they believe will protect the
health and safety of the people
they serve.”
Little was attending the
Republican Governors Associa-
tion conference in Nashville,
Tennessee, and returned late
Thursday.
While he was out of state,
BAKER WRESTLING
Bulldogs grapple
with La Grande,
Union, Enterprise
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
The Baker wrestling team traveled to La Grande on
Friday, May 28 to take on the Tigers, the Union Bobcats
and the Enterprise Outlaws in a group meet.
Baker coach Brandon Young said he had been working
with his wrestlers after playing host to Burns on May 26.
“Coming out of our match with Burns, we felt a lot of
the kids were really listening and showed a lot of im-
provement in just a day, the way they were wrestling and
focused on shooting more,” Young said.
Mixing and matching opponents with the other three
schools, the performances of freshman Sage Darlington
(126 pounds) and Cole Hester (132 pounds) are two that
stood out for Young.
“Those two really are really excited to go out there, and
take more shots in their matches,” Young said.
He also highlighted junior Adrian Allen, at 195 pounds.
“Adrian Allen might have had his best performance,”
Young said.
Though those three performances stuck out to Young,
he said he was proud of the entire team as the Bulldogs
prepare for the regional tournament set for June 17 at
Gladstone High School.
“It’s such a short window, just trying to get everyone
trained and ready for regionals,” Young said.
Baker travels to Boardman Wednesday, June 2 for a
multischool meet, and then hosts an unusual outdoor
meet Thursday, with the mats set up at Baker Bulldog
Memorial Stadium. Ontario, Vale and possibly Grant
Union will compete, with matches starting mid-after-
noon.
BMS hoops in action
The Baker Middle
School eighth-grade boys
basketball team beat La
Grande 51-22 on May 25.
The Baker seventh-
graders lost 31-19.
The eighth-graders,
coached by Mike Long,
won despite missing
starter Grant Gambleton.
Eli Long had 17 points,
Daniel Brown 10, and
Palmer Chandler and
Jaxon Logsdon six each.
The seventh-graders,
coached by Joel Rich-
ardson, were led by Kale
Dalke with eight points.
Hunter Coleman had fi ve
points, and Tyler Wirth,
Chase Roy and Connor
Martin two points each.
Nathan Howard/Getty Images-TNS
In this photo from March 6, 2021, Idaho Lieutenant Gov-
ernor Janice McGeachin speaks during a mask burning
event at the Idaho Statehouse in Boise. McGeachin is
running for governor.
“Taking the earliest opportunity to act solitarily on a
highly politicized, polarizing issue without conferring
with local jurisdictions, legislators, and the sitting
Governor is, simply put, an abuse of power.”
— Idaho Gov. Brad Little, referring to Lt. Gov. Janice
McGeachin’s decision to ban mask mandates in the state, a
decision Little, who was out of state, reversed a day later
the lieutenant governor is the
acting governor and has the
power to issue executive orders
under Idaho’s Constitution. It’s
not clear when or if an Idaho
lieutenant governor has ever
before used the authority while
a governor was out of state.
McGeachin in her order
issued Thursday and that took
effect shortly after at 11 a.m.
didn’t notify Little of her inten-
tions, but the governor’s offi ce
did notify McGeachin before
Little’s order to rescind hers
went out.
McGeachin also didn’t notify
ahead of time schools or elected
offi cials affected by her order,
or discuss the order with them.
“Taking the earliest opportu-
nity to act solitarily on a highly
politicized, polarizing issue
without conferring with local
jurisdictions, legislators, and
the sitting Governor is, simply
put, an abuse of power,” Little
said. “This kind of over-the-top
executive action amounts to
tyranny — something we all
oppose. How ironic that the ac-
tion comes from a person who
has groused about tyranny,
executive overreach, and bal-
ance of power for months.”
McGeachin fi red back on
Twitter with a statement
shortly after Little issued his
executive order nullifying
hers, saying Little had rejected
conservative solutions.
“I understand that protect-
ing individual liberty means
fi ghting against tyranny at
ALL levels of government —
federal, state, and local,” she
wrote. “It is your God-given
right to make your own health
decisions, and no state, city,
or school district ever has
the authority to violate your
unalienable rights.”
Little said McGeachin’s
order would have had alarm-
ing consequences if it had
lasted.
He said there would have
been no safety requirements
for social workers visiting
homes of at-risk individuals,
at the state testing lab, or
at prisons that could have
been hit with coronavirus
outbreaks. He also said
McGeachin’s executive order
confl icts with existing laws.
“This is why you do your
homework, Lt. Governor,”
Little said in his statement.
Little has been criticized
by the far-right of his party
ever since the pandemic
entered Idaho and he issued
a temporary stay-at-home or-
der in late March of 2020 as
patients overwhelmed some
hospitals and health care
workers became sick.
Health care facilities
feared running out of protec-
tive equipment as the illness
spread. The lockdown allowed
the situation to stabilize and
the state to bring in masks
and other equipment.
Lawmakers in the Legisla-
ture earlier this year tried but
failed to pass a mask-mandate
ban. One bill overwhelm-
ingly passed the House of
Representatives, but it died in
the Senate when a powerful
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