4A • April 24, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Proposed gun control law one of contradictions
Guest Column
T
he 2015 Oregon Legisla-
ture is shaping up to be one
of contradictions – more
gun control for those who obey
the law but possibly more gov-
ernment protection for those who
have broken the law.
We’re about to increase back-
ground checks on private gun
sales, which will do nothing to
stop felons from continuing to
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At the same time, legislation
has been proposed that would
make it harder for an employer to
do a criminal background check
on felons.
Yes, this is a very contentious
legislative session. Many bills are
on a fast track. If we don’t slow
down and become more thought-
ful, we’re going to pass some bad
laws, and citizens will pay the
price.
Last year, during the legisla-
ture’s brief 35-day session, state
Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene)
tried to rush approval of a gun
control bill to expand background
checks. He needed just one more
vote, and I declined to give it. I
didn’t think his bill would reduce
crime. I wish all it took to change
human behavior was passing leg-
islation. It doesn’t work that way.
Prozanski is back this year
with a similar bill, and this time
he has the votes. That doesn’t
mean he has a good bill.
His Senate Bill 941 requires
that any time a private citizen
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the seller and buyer/recipient
must go to a licensed gun dealer,
and pay to have the buyer under-
go a criminal background check.
On the face of it this seems rea-
At the Library
sonable. Think about it, though.
If you know you have a crim-
inal history, you’ll bypass this
law: Have somebody else buy a
gun for you, or obtain one on the
black market. It’s already against
the law for ex-felons to possess
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read about ex-felons committing
a crime, and they’re armed? It
takes more than laws to disarm a
criminal.
However, a law can disarm
a non-criminal. Under the pro-
posed legislation, a gun owner
with no criminal history could
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without a background check. On
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could be one year in jail and/or a
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the punishment could reach 10
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Given Prozanski’s legislative
history, I have to ask: Does he
really want to go after violent
felons? Or does he want to cause
problems for legitimate gun own-
ers?
Two years ago Prozanski
served on the governor’s Com-
mission on Public Safety, where
he worked on House Bill 3194.
He pushed unsuccessfully to re-
duce the sentences for some rob-
bery, assault and sexual abuse
crimes.
Even more revealing, Prozans-
ki wanted to expand expunge-
ment – a way for felons to wipe
clean their criminal history to
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ployment. Now here he is spon-
soring a bill that requires back-
ground checks on gun purchases.
egon Judicial Information Net-
work or the newer Odyssey court
system. Prozanski’s bill does not
address this.
There are aspects of his gun
bill that are worthy – for example,
prohibiting persons undergoing
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court-ordered outpatient treatment
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mentally ill. The bill does nothing
to protect the public from a person
whose mental illness expresses it-
We’re about
self in violence.
The overriding intent of
to increase
Prozanski’s bill is not directed at
background checks
violent behavior but at making
gun ownership more inconvenient
on private gun
for the law-abiding.
sales, which will
Nevertheless, it will pass and
do nothing to
will be trumpeted as making the
public safer.
stop felons from
Meanwhile, the bill assisting
continuing to
ex-felons in the job market makes
illegally obtain
for a curious counterpoint. If you
support Prozanski’s gun bill, take
and use fi rearms.
note.
Say you’re an employer and
What good does it do to require \RXDOVRKDWHJXQV<RXPD\¿QG
background checks, if you’re also yourself unwittingly offering a job
helping felons rewrite their crim- to someone who has committed
inal records?
armed robbery. If you then want
As it is, the public might be to rescind the job offer, you may
surprised how often expunge- have some explaining to do to a
ments and sealed records are al- VWDWHRI¿FLDO
lowed. I checked with one of the
House Bill 3025, also called
District Attorneys in my district the ban-the-box law because of
– Clatsop County’s Josh Marquis the box on some job applications
±DQGIRXQGWKDWKLVRI¿FHDORQH asking if an applicant has a crimi-
grants at least 100 expungements nal record, would restrict how pri-
or sealed record requests a year.
vate employers can interview job
Once an adult’s criminal re- applicants.
cord is sealed it may not appear
No inquiry could be made
on the Law Enforcement Data about an applicant’s criminal
System, the National Crime In- history, nor could a background
formation Center, the older Or- check be conducted, until after a
job has been offered. Only then
could the employer seek a back-
ground check. If something turned
up, the employer could rescind the
offer if the conviction was related
to the nature of the job. The appli-
cant could then appeal to the state
Bureau of Labor and Industries.
It’s popular to say that this is
a well-intentioned law, but you
know what? It isn’t. This is the
kind of law that creates animosi-
ty. The bill as currently written is
clearly designed to give one select
group of job applicants a cudgel –
the threat of legal action – to force
compliance from employers. In
this job market, there are a lot of
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suitable work. Why should ex-fel-
ons get a special break?
There are already federal tax
incentives to encourage employ-
ers to hire ex-felons. The Work
Opportunity Tax Credit Program
has been around since 1996 and
has been renewed ever since.
Some employers have made it
known that they like to hire people
with criminal backgrounds.
Dick Withnell, a Salem auto
dealer, has spoken at legisla-
tive hearings about hiring em-
ployees out of prison. He’s to be
commended for that. But it’s his
choice. Freedom of choice is a
beautiful thing. It’s better than po-
litical force.
The ban-the-box bill has had
a hearing before the House Busi-
ness and Labor Committee, where
advocates for ex-felons and pris-
oner’s rights were well-organized
with their testimony.
If it doesn’t pass this session,
like Prozanski’s gun bill it will
likely come around again.
CARLA O’REILLY
Here’s to our many library volunteers and supporters
April is the month we
gratefully celebrate our many
volunteers and supporters.
From 2 to 4 p.m. this coming
Saturday, April 25, we will be
hosting an event at the library
to express our appreciation
to all who have helped us
so much – becoming library
members, volunteering, and
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help us keep our doors open.
Each supporter will have a
coupon for one free book
from our book sale as a spe-
cial thank you. Come join
us as we bask in the warmth
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music provided by Gary
Keiski and The Coconuts,
and enjoy much fellowship
and good cheer. Beverages
and desserts will be provided.
Children’s Book Week
The 96th Annual Chil-
dren’s Book Week will be
from May 4-10. This nation-
wide commemoration is the
longest-running national lit-
eracy initiative in the country
and is all about the celebration
of books. Every year, com-
memorative events are held
from coast to coast at schools,
libraries, bookstores, homes –
wherever young readers and
books connect. This is a good
opportunity for parents and
grandparents to encourage
children to read. Electronics
are great learning tools and, of
course, physical activities – es-
pecially outdoor activities – are
wonderful and necessary for
kids. But there’s nothing like
curling up with a good book
and sometimes our youngsters
need a little encouragement.
For more information, visit
www.bookweekonline.com.
Northwest Author Series
We will be hosting North-
west author Don Waters at 2
p.m. on Saturday, May 9. He
will be talking about his hi-
ODULRXV ¿UVW QRYHO Sunland:
A Novel. The book features
the misadventures of a man
in his mid-thirties who takes
a break from working a job in
order to care for his beloved
grandmother. To minimize
the cost of her prescriptions,
he begins smuggling medi-
Boac’s Bird Notes
CARLA O’REILLY
cations over the border. Don’t
miss this entertaining event.
Cannon Beach Reads
Our reading group, Can-
non Beach Reads, will be
meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
on May 20 at the library. This
month the group will be read-
ing and discussing The Black
Count: Glory, Revolution, Be-
trayal, and the Real Count of
Monte Cristo, by author Tom
Reiss. The book, which is a
biography of General Thom-
as-Alexandre Dumas, won the
2013 Pulitzer Prize for biogra-
phy or autobiography. General
Dumas’s son, the writer Alex-
SUBMITTED PHOTO
It take a village to run a library, as was the case in 2006 when volunteers and supporters
gathered for this photo.
andre Dumas, based his novel
The Count of Monte Cristo, on
his father’s life. New readers
are always welcome.
Membership Meeting
Annual library member-
ship dues of $10 may be paid
when we have our monthly
meeting at 10 a.m. May 6. A
light brunch will be served
and the election of new board
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will be the featured business
of the morning.
Book Donations
Finally, the 4th of July
might seem far in the future
at this point, but the sooner
we can get book donations,
the better, according to Jean
Furchner. So pack up those
used books as soon as pos-
sible and bring them to the
library. Tax donation forms
are available.
SUSAN BOAC
Farewell ‘Your Grandma,’ you have served us well
Hey, what’s with the photo
of the broken down van with
this week’s birding column?
Did the wrong picture get
placed?
Nope, in fact, this van,
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parents and then me, has
logged at least half of its 157K
miles while birding. Like a
good pair of binoculars and a
scope, this piece of equipment
was very important to my
family and friends.
My parents birded all over
Oregon, especially this time of
year when it’s great to plan a
trip to hot migrating spots like
Klamath Falls or Coos Bay.
But the story ends here.
With one hour left in the bir-
dathon, the decision had been
made. “Your Grandma,” the
van’s name, unexpectedly died.
Our team was at the Eagle
Sanctuary in Knappa. We had
seen over 80 species of birds
already and were quickly run-
ning out of time. We could to
go to Coxcomb Hill or Wire-
SUSAN BOAC
less Road in Astoria, but not
both. As it turned out, Your
*UDQGPD KDG WKH ¿QDO YRWH not going anywhere!
As we turned on to Hwy 30
The highlights of the day
– CLuNK CLAnK BOOM – was the absolute joy to be
we quickly realized we were birding all day with my two
SUSAN BOAC PHOTO
Fondly named “Your Grandma,” this van gave its all for
birding.
friends and raising money
for the Wildlife Center of the
North Coast, seeing three
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brown pelican, black-throated
gray warbler and red-breasted
sapsucker, and enjoying see-
ing two pairs of cinnamon teal
in a pond in Brownsmead.
All in all, a great success.
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vehicle!
Susan has spent her life en-
joying the great outdoors from
the lakes and woods of Northern
Minnesota, Mt. Adams in Wash-
ington and now the Oregon
beach environs. After spending
many pleasurable hours driving
her avid birder parents around,
she has taken up birding as a
passion, to the mixed emotions
of her husband Scott. The Boacs
reside on the Neawanna Creek
in Seaside where their backyard
is a birder’s paradise.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Why is City Council ‘waffl ing?’
I have been following the deliberations
of the Cannon Beach City Council regard-
ing the proposed development at 532 N.
Laurel and am appalled at the willingness
of the City Council to disregard the Plan-
ning Commission’s well reasoned denial of
this project. The city’s zoning provisions
are clear with regard to the integrity of de-
velopment within the city limits. I have yet
to discover what reasoning the City Coun-
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originally supported the Planning Com-
mission’s decision then ignoring it. I have
owned a home on the north end of Cannon
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a deep and abiding interest in the commu-
nity. I am shocked that the group of citi-
zens who represent the opposition to this
decision were denied a voice at the City
Council meeting. I have to wonder what
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Susan Keizer
Davis, California
Kids deserve safe schools
To the editor,
My heart went out to the young man who
recently spoke at the town hall forum about
needing a school in Cannon Beach. It would
be nice if our politicians, instead of just pro-
viding candy-coated comments, could actual-
ly give accurate answers. Public school mon-
ey in this area will go to consolidating schools
and making them safer. Safer means eliminat-
ing structural problems with a Cascadia earth-
quake, locating them outside of the tsunami
inundation zone, and controlling access to pre-
vent shootings and takeovers.
Leaders should concentrate on gaining vot-
er approval for the following plan on which
they have already been briefed – structurally
upgrade Seaside Heights Elementary (state
money is available now); and pass a new bond
issue for one-third of the amount that was orig-
inally put before the voters. Property taxes on
second homeowners pay 80 percent of these
bond repayments with local taxpayers paying
an amount that is equivalent to a cigarette a
day per person. Use this bond money to build
a new middle and high school above the ex-
isting Seaside Heights parking lot (out of the
tsunami zone) that eliminates additional land
costs and minimizes infrastructure costs.
Do it now before bond interest rates rise.
Adults owe kids a safe functional public
school. Community leaders owe property
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John Dunzer
Seaside
Trees are vital
To the editor,
Trees are vital to the beauty and environ-
ment health of our Cannon Beach communi-
ty. From alders to cedars, hemlocks to spruce,
we’re blessed with an abundance of native
See Letters, Page 5A