A4
BAKER CITY
Opinion
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news@bakercityherald.com
Thursday, December 1, 2022 • Baker City, Oregon
EDITORIAL
Measure 114
needs to be
delayed
A
federal judge needs to put a temporary halt on
Measure 114, Oregon’s history-making gun
control law that voters narrowly passed Nov. 8.
Judge Karin J. Immergut has scheduled a hearing for
Thursday, Dec. 2, to consider a motion filed by attorneys
for plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the measure. That’s
just six days before the law is slated to take effect.
The plaintiffs — the Oregon Firearms Federation,
Sheriff Brad Lohrey of Sherman County, and a Keizer
gun store owner — are seeking a temporary restraining
order and preliminary injunction to block the measure’s
provisions from taking effect.
Although there is legal precedent establishing that cit-
izens’ Second Amendment rights are not unlimited —
background checks, for instance, have been required for
decades, and restrictions on buying certain types of guns,
in some places, have also passed legal muster — Measure
114, if it takes effect in full on Dec. 8, almost certainly
would create a situation in which it’s not possible for any-
one to legally by a gun from a licensed dealer in Oregon.
Such an outright ban on buying firearms, even if it’s
temporary, seems unequivocally unconstitutional.
The issue is the requirement that gun buyers first ob-
tain a permit and pass a police-approved gun safety class.
These are the most controversial aspects of Measure 114,
which voters in 29 of Oregon’s 36 counties, including
Baker, rejected.
(The measure passed, by about 27,000 votes out of
1.9 million cast, due to strong support in Multnomah
County, the state’s most populous.)
The problem is that county sheriff’s offices, which will
issue the permits, won’t have a system in place to do so
by Dec. 8. Details about the classes that the measure re-
quires aren’t clear, nor will such classes be readily avail-
able in less than a week.
The end result, then, if the law takes effect Dec. 8, is
that residents who want to legally buy a gun won’t be able
to meet Measure 114 requirements, meaning gun sellers
won’t have any customers.
Imagine if the section in the Bill of Rights at stake here
wasn’t the Second Amendment, but the First.
It would be patently unconstitutional to deprive citizens
of their right to free speech, even temporarily, while the
government figured out a system of classes and permits
that people needed to comply with to exercise that right.
The comparison is imperfect, to be sure.
There is considerably more legal precedent for limits
on the Second Amendment than on the First.
But to reiterate, the scenario shaping up in Oregon, if
Measure 114 takes effect Dec. 8, isn’t a new limit on peo-
ple using their Second Amendment rights, but rather the
outright removal of an obviously integral aspect of those
rights, which is to legally buy a gun.
It will take time for the judicial system to determine
whether any part of Measure 114 is constitutional.
But until those decisions are made, the measure
shouldn’t be allowed to take effect.
— Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald editor
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
President Joe Biden: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington,
D.C. 20500; 202-456-1111; to send comments, go to www.whitehouse.gov.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. office: 313 Hart Senate Office Building, U.S. Senate,
Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland office: One
World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503-
326-3386; fax 503-326-2900. Baker City office, 1705 Main St., Suite 504, 541-278-
1129; merkley.senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. office: 221 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244; fax 202-228-2717. La Grande office: 105
Fir St., No. 210, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-962-7691; fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.
senate.gov.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (2nd District): D.C. office: 1239 Longworth House Office
Building, Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202-225-5774. Medford
office: 14 N. Central Avenue Suite 112, Medford, OR 97850; Phone: 541-776-
4646; fax: 541-779-0204; Ontario office: 2430 S.W. Fourth Ave., No. 2, Ontario, OR
97914; Phone: 541-709-2040. bentz.house.gov.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State Capitol, Salem, OR 97310; 503-378-3111;
www.governor.oregon.gov.
Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read: oregon.treasurer@ost.state.or.us; 350
Winter St. NE, Suite 100, Salem OR 97301-3896; 503-378-4000.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum: Justice Building, Salem, OR
97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative documents and information are available
online at www.leg.state.or.us.
State Sen. Lynn Findley (R-Ontario): Salem office: 900 Court St. N.E., S-403,
Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1730. Email: Sen.LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane): Salem office: 900 Court St. N.E., H-475,
Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1460. Email: Rep.MarkOwens@oregonlegislature.gov
Baker City Hall: 1655 First Street, P.O. Box 650, Baker City, OR 97814; 541-523-
6541; fax 541-524-2049. City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at
7 p.m. in Council Chambers. Councilors Jason Spriet, Shane Alderson, Joanna
Dixon, Kenyon Damschen, Johnny Waggoner Sr. and Dean Guyer.
Baker City administration: 541-523-6541. Jonathan Cannon, city manager; Ty
Duby, police chief; David Blair, fire chief; Michelle Owen, public works director.
Baker County Commission: Baker County Courthouse 1995 3rd St., Baker City,
OR 97814; 541-523-8200. Meets the first and third Wednesdays at 9 a.m.; Bill
Harvey (chair), Mark Bennett, Bruce Nichols.
Baker County departments: 541-523-8200. Travis Ash, sheriff; Noodle Perkins,
roadmaster; Greg Baxter, district attorney; Alice Durflinger, county treasurer;
Stefanie Kirby, county clerk; Kerry Savage, county assessor.
YOUR VIEWS
Measure 114 will widen
urban-rural divide
I would like to address the so-called faith
community that gave us the ill conceived
Measure 114. You have no idea of the harm
you have caused yourselves, the rural people
and the nation.
When I was discharged from the Marine
Corps, after serving as a rifleman in Viet-
nam, in October 1967 I wasn’t old enough
to vote. I turned 21 in August 1968 so I
could in vote in the 1968 election. Before it
was over about two and half million served
in Vietnam. Those in the field were in a mi-
nority but the military did train everyone
in which end of a firearm to point. At that
time communism was the enemy and the
communists had no love for churches. If
they would have won and established them-
selves here there wouldn’t be any churches
and many, preachers, and priests, would
have been subjected to reeducation camps.
Sending arms down the Ho Chi Minh trail
for years about bankrupted China and the
Soviet Union and they were glad to see it
end too. The Korean War was the first direct
confrontation with communism.
After Vietnam the rise of radical Islam
was the reason for our involvement in Iraq
and Afghanistan. Again, the radicals like
ISIS and Al Qaeda have no love for Chris-
tianity. Your churches are open and no one
wears a burqa because some went into battle
and opposed it.
Being in battles and firefights should, you
would think, qualify as live fire training but
Measure 114 doesn’t recognize these expe-
riences as qualifying. The medals handed
out for valor and wounds, Purple Hearts,
Bronze Stars, Silver Stars and even a Medal
of Honor doesn’t seem to be enough for the
lift every voice people. They need to take a
gun safety course.
Over the years I decided to quit buying
Chinese junk at Christmas and birthdays
and bought seven lever action .22s for my
grandchildren. I passed a background check
every time and paid the fees. I got a con-
cealed weapons permit when Bill Clinton
started down the gun banning road. Finger-
prints, background checks and do it all over
again if you change an address.
If you want to pass an antigun petition
you can do it easily. Just concentrate on the
blue streak along I-5 and don’t waste time
gathering signatures in rural Oregon. The
colleges are a good place to gather some sig-
natures.
There are lots of history deprived
18-year-olds there. No chance of telling
them why we have a Second Amendment.
I keep hearing how we all have to commu-
nicate and get along but communicating
with the urban left is just a myth like a uni-
corn. There seems to be some kind of men-
tal block. I think we have passed that time
anyway. We see things in mirror images.
The danger with this law is that across the
nation Democrats will be saying, ”look what
Oregon did, we can too.” Not good. It will
only make the divide worse. The urban ru-
ral divide is not just Oregon. You can google
up polls and find out that 43% of American
thinks we are on the road to civil war. This
law will increase those numbers. Things like
two more counties expressing their desire to
leave Oregon and join Idaho goes unnoticed
, especially among the Gen Z crowd, the
18-years-olds. I guess that stands for phone
Zombies. Text 300 words a minute and get
your news from Tik Tok. Back in the Viet-
nam days it became fashionable to say if
you are old enough to fight for your country
you should be old enough to vote. Of course
99.9% would never get close to a hostile
bullet but it became the law of the land. So,
now the Phone Zombies vote to make me
take their hairbrained gun safety course. My
first gun safety course was years ago, maybe
60 years, when Oregon passed the hunter
safety legislation. Take this course or you
can’t go hunting.
This law needs to die a quick death. One
avenue of approach to killing this insane law
is for a special session of the legislature. It’s
time to send a message to the Republicans.
You gained enough seats to stop Kate and
Tina’s supermajority and I want you to stand
firm. Not one damned dime spent until this
law is repealed and throw in the one from
last session that says if somebody steals my
gun I am liable for what they do with it. If
not, extend the law to say if a carjacker steals
your car you are liable if he kills somebody
while eluding the police. The lawsuits being
prepared for the Supreme Court need to in-
clude veterans as a class. Live fire training
for them just shows the complete ignorance
of our city cousins.
The urban/rural divide is more than
just geography. The left thinks if you ban
guns there will be peace love and harmony.
Out here we think if there is a danger you
should kill the killer. You can watch almost
any news channel and eventually you will
hear about the drift toward civil war. Civil
wars aren’t civil. Might be time to consider
another approach rather than just pissing
people off to make you think you are getting
more secure.
Steve Culley
La Grande
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Mail: To the Editor, Baker City Herald,
P.O. Box 807, Baker City, OR 97814
Email: news@bakercityherald.com
OTHER VIEWS
Grocery monopolies bad for shoppers
BY REBECCA WOLF
A
merican families are
heading into the end-
of-year holidays facing
sticker shock in the grocery
aisles. Prices have jumped 13%
over the past year, with even
larger increases for staples like
eggs, chicken and pork. Al-
though inflation decreased
slightly in October, it remains a
top concern in public opinion
polls for a reason: High prices
are hurting people, and they
need help.
Meanwhile, second- and
fourth-largest grocers in the
country have hatched a plan
that would actually make things
worse for consumers. Kro-
ger and Albertsons — which
together already own chains
like Ralphs, Food 4 Less, Fred
Meyer, Safeway, Acme, Pick ‘N
Save and Vons — announced
plans to merge, potentially cre-
ating an industry behemoth sec-
ond only to Walmart.
We know the pattern well:
Big companies keep getting big-
ger, their competitors disappear
and prices keep going up. Re-
cent research from Food & Wa-
ter Watch found that in 2019,
just four companies took in
nearly 70% of all grocery sales
in the country. And while the
power and profit of the grocery
giants has grown, the number
of stores has shrunk by roughly
30% between 1994 and 2019.
This has hit some communities
very hard; according to the De-
partment of Agriculture, 17% of
Americans now live in low-in-
come areas with reduced food
access.
To hear the grocery goliaths
tell it, bigger is better: They save
money by controlling more of
the market, and those savings
are passed on to you and me.
But evidence shows that when
they have the power to jack up
prices, they do.
In 2011, an Agriculture De-
partment economist found that
prices tend to rise as concen-
tration increases; the following
year, a Federal Trade Commis-
sion paper noted that “those
mergers generating the largest
price increases [for consumers]
take place in the most concen-
trated markets.” As inflation
hammers family budgets, gro-
cery chain CEOs — including
Kroger boss Rodney McMullen
— occasionally admit that this is
the perfect environment to raise
prices and rake in record profits.
After all, everyone needs to eat.
A new mega-merger would
negatively impact everything
from food safety and farming
practices to wages for grocery
workers. Farmers face pressures
from both processors and re-
tailers; the highly-consolidated
processing industry sets the
prices for products like meat,
poultry, milk and eggs. In the
end, farmers earn only about 14
cents for every dollar spent at
the grocery store.
Similarly, workers often
struggle to make ends meet.
More Perfect Union reports that
an internal company presenta-
tion acknowledged that at least
one in five Kroger employees
received government assistance
— which is sadly typical across
the industry.
Merger mania in this indus-
try is nothing new. Kroger and
Albertsons have been buying up
competition and bullying con-
sumers for decades. These deals
have been given the thumbs-up
by federal regulators that no
longer use antitrust laws to chal-
lenge corporate consolidation.
Instead of focusing on con-
sumer choice and competition,
agencies now favor “efficiency.”
This suits the profit-margin
needs of mega corporations and
Wall Street, at the expense of the
rest of us.
But when it comes to chal-
lenging corporate power, there
may be hope: The Department
of Justice and Federal Trade
Commission have pushed to
block several big mergers this
year, a sign that regulators may
be ready to upend the corpo-
rate-friendly status quo. Several
lawmakers wrote a letter to Fed-
eral Trade Commission chair
Lina Khan saying that this deal
“could exacerbate existing anti-
trust, labor, and price-gouging
issues in the grocery sector.”
And Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J.,
and Jon Tester, D-Mont., and
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., have
introduced legislation to stop
these kinds of mega mergers.
A Kroger-Albertsons merger
would only deepen the power of
grocery retailers to control our
food system and profit off the
basic needs of everyday Ameri-
cans. Prices are already too high
and choices too few for con-
sumers; workers are stuck with
stagnant wages; and the farmers
that produce our food are losing
out at every turn. By stopping
this deal, regulators would send
a powerful message that puts
the needs of everyday people
over corporate profits.
█
Rebecca Wolf is the Food Policy
Analyst at the national advocacy
group Food & Water Watch.