News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
A5
Gun retailers react to ‘assault weapon’ sales ban initiative
By Claire Withycombe
Capital Bureau
As students and their sup-
porters marched in communi-
ties across the country against
gun violence on Saturday, Or-
egon gun retailers claim a citi-
zen initiative petition intending
to restrict the sale of so-called
“assault weapons” is too broad.
One of the petitioners,
though, maintains that the peti-
tion was written in consultation
with gun owners and is intend-
ed to boost public safety.
The group, which filed an
updated petition Thursday,
wants to get a ban on the sale
of certain semiautomatic guns
with specific features on the
statewide ballot. They must
collect about 88,000 signatures
by July 6 to go before voters in
November.
Should the petition make it
to the ballot and get approved
by voters, people who legally
bought the types of guns the
petition seeks to restrict would
have to register those weap-
ons and pass a background
check, requirements that have
also prompted criticism from
gun retailers. Violating the law
would be a felony.
At issue for gun retailers
is the definition of “assault
weapons,” which the petition
describes in detail as semiauto-
matic rifles, pistols or shotguns
with certain features.
As an example, the measure
would ban the sale of semiau-
tomatic rifles that have the ca-
pacity to accept a detachable
magazine and include any of
eight features, such as a pistol
grip, a folding stock or a shroud
around its barrel that allows
the user to hold the rifle steady
without burning their hand.
It would ban the sale of
any semiautomatic pistol or
rifle “with a fixed magazine,
that has the capacity to accept
more than 10 rounds of ammu-
nition.”
Karl Durkheimer, who
owns Northwest Armory, a re-
tailer with locations in Portland
and Tigard, said that he was
still trying to figure out how
much of his inventory would
fall under the petition’s defini-
tion of an assault weapon. He
expressed doubts that the mea-
sure was written by someone
familiar with firearms.
“As someone who has sold
Pamplin Media Group/Christopher Oertell
A wall of shotguns and rifles at the Arm Yourself Gun
Store in Hillsboro on Oct. 13. Oregon gun retailers claim
a citizen initiative petition intending to restrict the sale of
so-called “assault weapons” is too broad.
guns, been a gun dealer for over
25 years, and been collecting
guns since I was 16 years old,
it’s not written by people who
have very much gun knowl-
edge,” Durkheimer said in a
phone interview Thursday.
Scott Bryce, co-founder of
GunRunner Arms in Junction
City, likewise objected to the
use of the term “assault weap-
on” in the petition.
“Assault is an action, not a
class of firearm,” Bryce said.
This was a common crit-
icism among Oregon gun
dealers contacted by the EO/
Pamplin Capital Bureau, who
distinguish between fully au-
tomatic and semiautomatic
weapons.
The former have generally
been illegal for civilians under
federal law for decades. Many
“modern” guns sold and col-
lected are semiautomatic guns.
Durkheimer was also skep-
tical of the initiative petition’s
provision for creating a registry
for people who own those certain
types of guns and having them
go through a background check.
The way it works now, a
person who wants to purchase
a gun from a licensed dealer
is subject to a state and feder-
al background check. How-
ever, the Oregon State Police
do not maintain a registry, and
Durkheimer sees the petition as
trying to change that status quo.
“If you come in and you
buy a .22 rifle, the only person
that knows you have that .22
rifle is Northwest Armory and
yourself,” unless you choose
to share that information with
someone else, Durkheimer
said.
When a gun has been used
in a crime, the police have to
request a “trace,” or manufac-
ture and sale history, from the
federal Bureau of Alcohol, To-
bacco and Firearms using the
serial number of the weapon in
question.
The ATF can then find out
the manufacturer of the gun,
the wholesaler that distributed
the gun, the licensed dealer that
sold the gun and the purchaser.
About 70 percent of the ATF’s
traces are successful, according
to a July 2016 report by inde-
pendent news organization The
Trace.
Ron Redding, owner of
Guncrafters, a Salem retailer,
argued that the statute change
sought by petitioners could
hurt gun manufacturers, and
claimed that banning the sale
of weapons as specified in the
petition would merely create a
black market for them.
Petitioners say that their in-
tent is to protect public safety.
The Rev. W.J. Mark Knut-
son, senior pastor of Augusta-
na Lutheran Church in Port-
land and initiative petition
campaign chair, said the cam-
paign has members who are
gun owners and were consult-
ed in the crafting of the peti-
tion’s language.
Rather than banning what
he characterizes as assault
weapons outright, Knutson said,
the petitioners sought to grand-
father in legally purchased guns
in a way that respected the rights
of gun owners.
Knutson pointed to seat
belts as an example of Ameri-
can society adapting for safety.
“This is not a campaign
against anybody,” Knutson
said. “It’s a campaign to protect
our children and public safety
in Oregon.”
Avenue in Dayville for an
attempted suicide.
March 23: Advised of
a suspicious person in Mt.
Vernon.
March 24: Contacted
subject about telephonic ha-
rassment of the Prairie City
Ranger Station.
March 24: Dispatched to
Ingle Street in Mt. Vernon
for a domestic dispute re-
port.
March 25: Responded
with Search and Rescue and
U.S. Forest Service law en-
forcement to Forest Road 10
southeast of Dale for an in-
jured man.
March 25: Dispatched
with John Day ambulance
and state police to Keeney
Fork Road near Long Creek
for a 20-year-old woman
who was injured in a fall.
March 25: Responded
to South Ingle Street in Mt.
Vernon for a report of a sui-
cidal teenager.
March 25: Received a
livestock complaint from
West Bench Road in John
Day.
• Oregon State Police
March 19: Advised of
cows on Highway 26 near
Moon Creek Road.
March 19: Assisted John
Day police with a suspicious
person report in Prairie City.
March 25: Received a re-
port of a cow on Highway 26
near Dayville.
• John Day ambulance
March 19: Dispatched to
Northeast Elm Street in John
Day for a woman with a pos-
sible broken arm.
March 20: Responded to
Main Street in John Day for
an elderly woman.
March 20: Dispatched to
a senior home in John Day
for a patient with high blood
pressure.
March 21: Responded
with sheriff’s office and
state police to Canyon Creek
Lane in Canyon city for an
unconscious man who was
not breathing and died.
March 24: Dispatched
with Prairie City ambulance
to East Fifth Street for an el-
derly man who was choking.
March 24: Paged with
Prairie City ambulance to a
senior home in Prairie City.
C OPS AND C OURTS
Arrests and citations in
the Blue Mountain Eagle are
taken from the logs of law
enforcement agencies. Every
effort is made to report the
court disposition of arrest
cases.
Grant County
Sheriff
The Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office reported the
following for the week of
March 22:
Concealed handgun li-
censes: 15
Average inmates: 28
Bookings: 8
Releases: 8
Arrests: 1
Citations: 0
Fingerprints: 4
Civil papers: 14
Warrants processed: 6
Asst./welfare check: 6
Search and rescue: 0
Justice Court
The Grant County Justice
Court reported the following
fines and judgments:
• Driving uninsured:
Robert J. Bryant, 20, Prairie
City, March 7, fined $265;
Chenise C.A. Mutchler, 22,
John Day, March 8, fined
$225.
• Driving while license
suspended: Robert J. Bryant,
20, Prairie City, March 7,
fined $440.
• Exceeding speed lim-
it: Cheryl Neault, 58, Prai-
rie City, March 13, 73/65
zone, fined $140; Hailey K.
Goetz, 20, Mountain Home
AFB, Idaho, Feb. 19, 80/65
zone, fined $265; Jenny M.
Rookstool, 34, Canyon City,
March 14, 60/45 zone, fined
$140.
• Violation of basic rule:
Cindy L. Bolman, 51, John
Day, Feb. 24, 56/30 zone,
fined $225.
• No operator’s license:
Mark S. Crissman, 57, Fox,
March 10, fined $265.
• Failure to drive with-
in lane: Nathan A. Klawit-
ter, 31, Redmond, March 1,
fined $225.
• Operating a vehicle
without required light: Clay-
ton D. Skidmore, 35, Prairie
City, Feb. 26, fined $165.
Oregon State
Police
March 18: Unable to lo-
cate Justyn M. Kroeker, 27, a
registered sex offender, at his
mother’s home in Mt. Vernon.
A report was issued to support
an arrest warrant for failing to
register.
March 18: Debra L.
Shawn, 62, Mt. Vernon, was
arrested following a traffic
stop on Highway 26 in Mt.
Vernon and charged with
DUII controlled substances.
March 22: Norman G.
Reed, 74, John Day, a regis-
tered sex offender, was cited
following a traffic stop on
Highway 26 in east John Day
for failing to report of change
of address.
March 23: Responded to
report of a car hitting a deer
on Highway 26 near the
Wheeler County line with no
injuries.
March 24: Ken R. Kings-
ton, 57, Granite, was arrested
on Center Street in Granite
and charged with failing to
register as a sex offender.
Dispatch
John
Day
dispatch
worked 143 calls during the
week of March 19-25, in-
cluding:
• John Day Police De-
partment
March 19: Responded to
Northwest Bridge Street and
Third Avenue in John Day
for a road hazard.
March 19: Dispatched to
a theft report at an apartment
complex in Prairie City.
March 19: Responded
with sheriff’s office and
state police for a report of a
missing 4-year-old who was
found.
March 19: Responded to
a harassment report in John
Day.
March 19: Dispatched
with sheriff’s office and
state police to a motel in
John Day for a theft report.
March 20: Received a
call about a trespassing issue
in Prairie City.
March 21: Responded to
a fraud report on West Main
Street in John Day.
March 21: Received a
forgery report in John Day.
March 21: Report of a
theft on West Main Street in
John Day.
March 22: Amanda Bo-
gen, 32, Prairie City, was
cited in John Day for driving
without a license.
March 23: Tyler D. De-
hiya, 24, Mt. Vernon, was
cited in John Day for driving
with suspended license and
no insurance and failing to
register vehicle.
March 23: Responded to
a civil matter that became a
dispute on McCallum Ave-
nue in Prairie City.
March 23: Sandra M.
Colbeth, 70, John Day, was
cited for speeding on North-
west Third Avenue in John
Day.
March 24: John E. Guth-
ridge, 24, Burns, was cited
for driving uninsured on
Highway 26 at Southeast
Gunther Street in John Day.
March 24: Edward Hum-
bird, 49, Canyon City, was
cited on Third Avenue in
John Day for failing to
change registration and ex-
pired plates.
March 24: Dispatched to
an apartment on Main Street
in John Day for a dispute.
March 24: Tiffany L.
Huffaker was arrested on
Main Street in John Day fol-
lowing a traffic stop.
March 25: Responded to
a senior home in John Day
for a combative and con-
fused patient.
March 25: Advised of an
unwanted person on East
Main Street in John Day.
• Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office
March 19: Received a re-
port of an arrest in Pendleton
on a Grant County warrant.
March 19: Responded to
a domestic dispute at apart-
ments on Nugget Street in
Canyon City.
March 19: Dispatched
with John Day police for
an assault report in Canyon
City.
March 19: Responded to
Patterson Drive in Canyon
City for a suspicious person
report.
March 20: Advised of
suspicious circumstances at
a property on Highway 402
near Monument.
March 20: Received a
theft report in the Pine Creek
area.
March 20: Report of a
civil or theft issue in Mt.
Vernon.
March 21: Report of a
hit-and-run crash in Canyon
City.
March 21: Responded
to an unattended death at a
property on Highway 402
near Monument.
March 21: Received a
report of a butchered steer
on the side of Harper Creek
Road in Mt. Vernon.
March 22: Report of a re-
straining order violation on
East Riverside Street in Mt.
Vernon.
March 22: Received a
livestock complaint in Prai-
rie City.
March 23: Responded
with John Day ambulance
and state police to Franklin
T HE L AW O FFICE OF D ONALD J. M OLNAR
A General Practice Law Firm
• Wills, Trusts, and Estates
• Divorce and Family Law
• Contracts, Real Estate, Business
• Personal Injury
• Criminal Defense
118 S. Washington Street, Canyon City, OR 97820
(541) 620-5127
43410
Grant County Health Department
Make an appointment to see Mendy Sharpe, FNP
for all of your family’s health care needs.
Open Mon. - Fri. 8am-5pm
528 E. Main, John Day
541-575-0429 or 888-443-9104
Celebrate your local Nurse Practioners
this Doctors Day!
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