A4 The BulleTin • Thursday, May 13, 2021
Amendment
Continued from A1
Residents in opposition also
questioned the timing of the
resolution, since it was brought
up a week after state lawmakers
passed Senate Bill 554. The new
law bans the possession of guns
in the state Capitol and Port-
land International Airport and
requires gun owners to securely
store their guns when not in use.
“Why now?” Madras resi-
dent Vickie Johnson asked at
the Wednesday meeting. “I
think this piece of illegal nul-
lification is an attempt to side-
swipe the governor’s signature
on Senate Bill 554.”
Fording and fellow com-
missioners, Kelly Simmelink
and Mae Huston, insisted the
resolution was in response to
several residents asking for the
local designation.
“I just feel a very strong ob-
ligation to represent the people
who have asked us to do this
resolution and it has been done
elsewhere and I’m very strongly
in support of it,” Huston said.
Jefferson County Sheriff
Jim Adkins was among those
Wednesday who spoke in favor
of the resolution.
The sheriff described him-
self as a supporter of the Second
Amendment. In his 35-year
law enforcement career, he has
never felt unsafe interacting with
armed individuals, Adkins said.
In fact, Adkins would like to
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed legis-
lation aimed at thwarting a half-dozen executive actions
by President Joe Biden to combat gun violence.
The new law came less than a week after a shooting at
an eastern Idaho middle school injured two students and
a custodian.
The Republican governor signed the measure Monday.
It passed the Idaho House and Senate with veto-proof
majorities and carried an emergency notice, meaning it
went into effect with Little’s signature.
The new law is retroactive to Jan. 20, the day Biden was
sworn in as president. It prevents all Idaho government
entities from enforcing executive orders, federal laws,
treaties, agency orders and rules of the U.S. government
involving firearms, firearm components and accessories,
or ammunition that conflict with the Idaho Constitution.
— Associated Press
see more law abiding citizens
own guns, he said.
“It’s not something that we
fear,” Adkins said. “I ask that
you as citizens protect your-
selves and be prepared.”
A portion of the resolution
says the County Commission
believes the criminal misuse of
firearms is due to criminals not
obeying the law and that mis-
use is not a reason to deny the
rights of others.
The focus on criminal mis-
use reminded Madras resident
Judy Embanks of the quote
from National Rifle Associa-
tion Executive Vice President
Wayne LaPierre, who said,
“The only thing that stops a
bad guy with a gun, is a good
The Biden administration
announced Tuesday it will con-
sider a ban on new mining on
large expanses of public lands
in Western states to protect
a struggling bird species, the
greater sage grouse.
The Interior Department
review comes in response to
a federal court order and is
expected to cover millions
of acres of sage brush habitat
considered crucial to the bird’s
long-term survival.
tion’s history.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, an in-
fectious disease specialist at
Johns Hopkins University, said
that vaccinations have played a
crucial role even as the nation
struggles to reach herd immu-
nity. “The primary objective
is to deny this virus the ability
to kill at the rate that it could,
and that has been achieved,”
he said.
Associated Press
COVID-19 deaths in the
U.S. have tumbled to an
average of around 600 per
day — the lowest level in 10
months — with the number
of lives lost dropping to sin-
gle digits in well over half
the states and hitting zero
on some days.
Confirmed infections
have fallen to about 38,000
per day on average, their
lowest mark since mid-Sep-
tember. While that is still
cause for concern, they have
plummeted 85% from a
peak of more than a quar-
ter-million per day in early
January.
The last time deaths were
this low was early July, nearly
a year ago. COVID-19
deaths in the U.S. topped out
in mid-January at an aver-
age of more than 3,400 a day,
just a month into the biggest
vaccination drive in the na-
U.S. Attorney’s Office Seattle via AP, file
A homemade firearm that federal agents
say was recovered from a Washington home
last year. Idaho’s newly signed measure
target’s the president’s crackdown on “ghost
guns” — homemade firearms put together
from purchased gun parts that lack serial
numbers to trace them.
guy with a gun.”
Embanks, and others who
spoke in opposition, said that
quote is an oversimplification
and does not account for other
factors that have led to mass
shootings, such as easy access
to guns during a mental health
crisis.
“If everyone who supports
this resolution is a good guy
with a gun, why do we need
this resolution,” Embanks said
Wednesday. “Where were all
the good guys at Columbine,
Sandy Hook, Florida Pulse
(nightclub), Mandalay Bay,
Virginia Tech, Umpqua Com-
munity College, Charleston,
South Carolina, etc., etc.”
e e
Reporter: 541-617-7820,
kspurr@bendbulletin.com
Deanna M. Balon
of Bend, OR
September 16, 1940 -
May 6, 2021
Arrangements:
Niswonger-Reynolds
Funeral Home is honored
to serve the family.
541-382-2471 Please
visit the online registry for
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wonger-reynolds.com
Services:
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Mass with interment in
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Contributions may be
made to:
St. Francis Catholic Church
2450 NE 27th St, Bend,
OR 97701 or Heart &
Home Hospice 745 NW Mt
Washington Dr Ste 205,
Bend, OR 97703
Attention Parents of 2021 Grads!
Help make some
memories!
The Bulletin is publishing a special
Class of 2021 Graduation section
on May 30 to celebrate graduating
Central Oregon high school students.
Mining ban considered to
protect sage grouse in West
Associated Press
U.S. virus deaths dip to
lowest level in 10 months
Idaho governor signs bill to halt
Biden’s executive orders on firearms
Thomas Michael
James Condon
of Bend, OR
Dec 12, 1953 - May 6,
2021
Arrangements:
Niswonger-Reynolds
Funeral Home is honored
to serve the family. 541-
382-2471 Please visit the
online registry for the fam-
ily at www.niswonger-reyn-
olds.com
Services:
Saturday May 15, 2021
at 11:00am Bend Church
of the Nazarene 1270 NE
27th St, Bend, OR 97701
Enter a congratulatory message or a short biography
along with a photo for just $25. Your messages will be
grouped together by school and published in full color.
A temporary ban on min-
ing was imposed under former
President Barack Obama but
dropped by the Trump admin-
istration. The affected lands to-
taled 10 million acres in Idaho,
Nevada, Montana, Oregon,
Utah and Wyoming.
Millions of sage grouse once
roamed the West. Develop-
ment, livestock grazing and
an invasive grass that encour-
ages wildfires reduced the spe-
cies population to fewer than
500,000.
Call The Bulletin Advertising Dept. for more information.
541-385-5809
Advertising deadline: Monday, May 17
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