State
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
A7
Lawmakers seek to close gun loophole
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
State lawmakers say they
plan to advance a bill that
would prohibit abusers and
stalkers from owning or pos-
sessing firearms. The leg-
islation also would require
Oregon State Police to notify
other law enforcement when
they learn someone has tried
to obtain a gun illegally.
Gov. Kate Brown identi-
fied the law change as one of
her priorities almost two years
ago, and she was first to speak
in favor of it during a hearing
in front of the House Judiciary
Committee Feb. 7.
She recounted how a year
ago, she had visited Oregon
State Trooper Nic Cederberg
in the hospital after he was
shot 12 times while respond-
ing to a domestic violence call
on Christmas night in King
City in Washington County.
Twenty-four-year-old Kate
Armand was shot and killed
by her estranged husband.
When Cederberg responded,
Armand’s husband shot the
trooper 12 times in 50 sec-
onds.
“I made a promise (to Ced-
erberg) that I would continue
to do everything I can to keep
victims and law enforcement
officers safe from this kind of
senseless violence,” Brown
said.
She said her resolve gained
urgency when she learned
that in the month after Ar-
mand was killed, another 16
Oregonians lost their lives
in domestic violence-related
incidents, according to a Jan.
18 report by the Oregon Do-
mestic Violence Fatality Re-
view Team.
House Bill 4145 would
expand prohibitions on do-
mestic abusers having guns
to include dating partners
and stalkers. Existing law ap-
plies to only spouses, former
spouses and couples who are
cohabitating.
Audit: State tracking,
licensing system for
pot needs improvement
Capital Bureau/Paris Achen
Salem resident Madeleine Garcelon holds up a photo
of herself, right, and her daughter, Nicolette Elias,
who was murdered by her ex-husband in Southwest
Portland in 2014. She spoke at the Oregon State Capitol
in Salem Feb. 7 during a hearing on House Bill 4145.
The legislation is aimed at protecting domestic violence
survivors from gun violence.
“Family definitions have
changed since I began my ca-
reer,” said Rep. Carla Piluso, a
former Gresham police chief.
“It is important the definition
in Oregon’s law that protects
family members from abuse
in the home are updated to
Proposal would base depredation
funding on wolf population
livestock kills, said Paige
Spence, the group’s Oregon
conservation network direc-
A proposal tying the tor.
“Predation rates have not
amount of money available to
ranchers for livestock losses increased with Oregon’s in-
to Oregon’s wolf population creased wolf population,”
she said.
has cleared its first hurdle.
Sean Stevens, execu-
Under House Bill 4106,
Oregon lawmakers would tive director of the Oregon
Wild environ-
be required to
mental group,
appropriate
said problems
money to the
with fraud and
state’s
wolf
abuse of the
compensation
wolf compen-
fund based on
sation
fund
the population
should be re-
of the species,
solved before
to the extent
the program is
practicable.
expanded.
The bill was
Counties
scheduled for a
have recom-
possible work
mended
the
session during
disbursal
of
the meeting of
compensation
the House Ag-
riculture Com-
funds without
mittee on Feb. Courtesy photo/Oregon Depart- sufficient in-
ment of Fish and Wildlife put from local
15, allowing
committees,
the proposal A bill that would
to survive an increase compensation sometimes in
areas with no
initial legis- for livestock losses
lative
dead- based on Oregon’s
wolves or con-
firmed
dep-
line, said Rep. wolf population has
redations, he
Brian Clem, survived an initial
said.
D-Salem, the legislative deadline.
Childers,
c o m m i t t e e ’s
chair.
the Wallowa
Several ranchers testified County rancher, said that
that it only makes sense to wolf compensation funds are
increase compensation fund- well-vetted.
ing as the number of wolves
“We do the best we can
in Oregon continues rising. on the ground,” he said. “I
State wildlife regulators cur- don’t believe there’s wide-
rently peg the wolf popula- spread fraud in any of our
tion at more than 100, though programs.”
some ranchers consider this a
In some cases, wolf com-
pensation funds are used
low estimate.
In Wallowa County, to prepare for the arrival of
which is home to eight con- wolves in regions they’ve
firmed wolf packs, it costs yet to be documented, said
up to $30,000 a year to Todd Nash, a rancher and
have a range rider patrol chair of the Oregon Cattle-
for the predators, said Rod men’s Association’s wolf
Childers, a rancher in the committee.
area.
For example, the money
“One range rider is not pays for the disposal of live-
cutting it,” he said. “There’s stock and wildlife carcasses,
no way he can respond to all which would otherwise at-
tract predators, as well as the
those different packs.”
The Oregon League of installation of fladry, which
Conservation Voters opposes is rope adorned with ribbons
HB 4106 because it would to deter predators.
“If they’re being proac-
confirm the “falsehood” that
rising wolf populations will tive, that’s a wonderful thing,
necessarily result in more isn’t it?” Nash said.
Capital Bureau
Capital Bureau
Oregon’s systems for
licensing and tracking rec-
reational marijuana have
weaknesses that could allow
illegal activity to fly under
the radar, state auditors say.
The recreational mari-
juana program also lacks
important security measures
that could protect sensitive
information and IT infra-
structure from being com-
promised.
The Oregon Liquor Con-
trol Commission helps reg-
ulate the recreational mar-
ijuana program, including
issuing licenses to produc-
ers, retailers and others in
the recreational marijuana
business. The agency also
runs the “seed-to-sale”
tracking program that is in-
tended to track marijuana on
its journey to market.
Among other issues au-
ditors found, data in the
cannabis tracking system is
self-reported by cannabis
businesses, raising auditors’
concerns about its reliability.
There aren’t enough
trained compliance inspec-
tors to adequately keep an
eye on recreational marijua-
na activity. And auditors also
found that the OLCC lacks
an overall IT security man-
agement plan for the agency
and a disaster recovery plan
for its information.
The Feb. 7 audit report
comes as there’s renewed
attention on marijuana, es-
pecially in states that have
legalized the substance.
In early January, Attor-
ney General Jeff Sessions
issued guidance to U.S. at-
torneys in states that have
legalized marijuana saying
they may use their discretion
when it comes to prosecuting
marijuana cases. Marijuana
remains illegal under the fed-
eral Controlled Substances
Act.
U.S. Attorney for Oregon
Billy Williams said at a mar-
ijuana conference he hosted
recently that Oregon produc-
es far more marijuana than
Capital Bureau/Mateusz Perkowski
Marijuana plants grow in
a high tunnel at a farm
near McMinnville. A state
audit says Oregon’s
licensing system could
make it difficult to detect
illegal activity.
Oregonians can consume,
and that product is leaking
into the black market.
Oregon voters approved
recreational marijuana in a
November 2014 ballot mea-
sure. Recreational marijuana
became legal on July 1, 2015.
The popularity of the pro-
gram is greater than state of-
ficials had expected.
Through November 2017,
the state had collected about
$115.5 million in state mari-
juana taxes since retail sales
began in January 2016, ac-
cording to the audit.
OLCC Executive Director
Steve Marks said in a written
response to the audit that the
agency “is actively following
up on all aspects of the audit”
and wants to get more mon-
ey to “move forward” on the
technology issues raised by
the audit.
when an offender tries to
transfer or purchase a firearm
illegally.
Such an information-shar-
ing requirement might have
made a difference for domes-
tic abuse survivors who later
lost their lives to gun violence
by their abusers, said Salem
resident Madeleine Garce-
lon, the mother of a Portland
woman killed by her ex-hus-
band. Garcelon testified in fa-
vor of the bill.
Nicolette Elias, 46, was
killed in Southwest Portland
by her ex-husband despite a
restraining order and a pro-
hibition against him having a
gun. Somehow, he obtained
a firearm illegally and used it
to end Elias’ life and kill him-
self.
“I am using my voice to
honor Nicolette to help pro-
tect other women and children
who are at risk of suffering a
tragedy like my daughter and
granddaughters,” Garcelon
said.
Wolf compensation bill clears initial hurdle
By Mateusz Perkowski
By Claire Withycombe
protect today’s families.”
The National Rifle As-
sociation opposes the law
change, said Keely Hopkins,
the Oregon liaison for the
NRA. The bill fails to ade-
quately define the relation-
ships that would be subject
to the prohibition on posses-
sion of weapons and gives
no limit for how far back
that relationship might have
occurred, Hopkins said.
When a firearm is within
reach of an abuser, the risk
of homicide is extreme, said
Piluso, D-Gresham. Statis-
tics bear that out. Out of the
nearly 1,700 women killed
by men nationwide in 2015,
93 percent were killed by a
man they knew. A majority of
the women were killed with
firearms during the course of
an argument, according to a
study by the nonprofit Vio-
lence Policy Center.
The bill also would re-
quire OSP to notify local law
enforcement within 24 hours
TREAT
YOUR
FEET
“
We do the best we can on the
ground. I don’t believe there’s
widespread fraud in any of our
programs.”
Rod Childers
Wallowa County rancher
Baker City
2830 10th St.
541-524-0122
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170 Ford Rd.
541-575-1311
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541-576-2160
38712
www.bluemountainhospital.org
Services available at the
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