Republicans Walk Out as Gun Control Bill Roils Oregon House

Republican lawmakers in Oregon staged a walkout in the House of Representative on Monday, with a controversial gun control bill and the recent actions by its sponsor among the reasons for their departure. 

Without a quorum, the Democrat majority can't move forward on a bill that would, among other things, raise the fee for a planned "permit to purchase" narrowly approved by voters as part of Measure 114 in 2022 ,from $65 to $150, while doubling the time licensing authorities have to issue the permit from one month to two months. It looked like HB 4145 would be killed off in committee, but its chief author, Rep. Jason Kropf, yanked fellow Democrat Rep. Thủy Trần into a hallway and allegedly berated her for close to 20 minutes after she voted "no" on an amended version of the bill. When the pair returned to the committee room, Trân switched her vote to a "yes." 

Trân told the press after the hearing that Kropf had created a hostile work environment with his actions, but it was firearms instructor and Second Amendment advocate Derek LeBlanc who filed a complaint with the  Legislative Equity Office. LeBlanc says he was told by the office that an independent investigator concluded no investigation was needed and the complaint was dismissed last week. 

House Democrats emerged from a caucus meeting on Monday two hours after the chamber was set to convene, with House Majority Leader Ben Bowman, D-Tigard, announcing that Kropf had resigned from the House Conduct Committee and appointing Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland as a replacement. House Republicans were caught off-guard by the move and demanded a full investigation into Kropf’s conduct after Fahey ruled that the motion to replace Kropf was not up for debate.

House Minority Leader Rep. Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, accused Democrats of attempting to sweep the dispute under the rug instead of supporting Trần. She called for the Legislative Equity Office to conduct “a full investigation into this matter that is both inclusive and transparent.”

“The allegation that a lawmaker created a hostile working environment by intimidating another lawmaker into changing their vote is a serious allegation that creates distrust in the democratic process,” Elmer said in a statement. “It must be properly addressed and thoroughly investigated through a transparent process that respects the victim and remedies the wrong committed against them.”

In a bit of revisionist history, Kropf's name was also removed as a sponsor of HB 4145. While Democrats are eager to sweep his actions under the rug, they're unwilling at this point to kill his bill and move on to other business. By walking out, Republicans not only helped to keep Kropf's bullying in the news, but at least temporarily thwarted passage of the legislation. 

Laura Daniel, a retired teacher from Keizer who came to show support for the bill with Moms Demand Action, a nonprofit nationwide gun control group, sat waiting in the gallery above the House floor Monday afternoon.

“You’re expecting to be able to hear testimony and see a vote on a bill and then to just have it not happen, it’s frustrating,” Daniel said., 

Maybe so, but I guarantee it's not nearly as frustrating as having to fork over $150, get mandatory training, and wait for two months before you can exercise a fundamental civil right. 

The permit-to-purchase requirement is already facing a legal challenge (as is the magazine ban included in Measure 114), and some Second Amendment advocates and Republican lawmakers have said the legislature should hold off on adopting any changes until the state Supreme Court has issued its decision. During oral arguments last November, justices had some tough questions for the state's attorney defending Measure 114, and I don't think its out of the question that the court will strike down the measure as a violation of the state constitution. 

[Justice Bronson] James read from the text of the measure that said a permit could be denied due to an applicant’s “mental and psychological state as evidenced by past behavior,” and a “threat of unlawful violence.”

“A mere threat of unlawful violence is protected speech, right?” James asked [Assistant Attorney General Robert] Koch.

How could someone be deprived of the right to buy a gun based on their exercise of another right, James asked.

Koch said that would be unconstitutional.

There would need to be a genuine threat of unlawful violence and an imminent and reasonable likelihood of carrying it out, James said.

“I would love it if the statute were written that way,” James said, “ but it doesn’t appear to be written that way.”

He further questioned, “Is there any other example where a citizen of Oregon would need to take a class before they could exercise their constitutional right?”

Koch first posited aloud that driving might be an example, yet then acknowledged it’s not a constitutional right, and ultimately answered no.

Measure 114 has been a mess from the get-go, and HB 4145 would make its provisions even worse. I don't know if the GOP minority will be able to fend off the bill for the rest of the session, but I'm glad that their walkout is at least raising awareness of the issues with the ballot initiative and the bullying of Democrats like Kropf to make it even more difficult for Oregonians to exercise their right to keep and bear arms.  

Editor’s Note: Second Amendment groups are doing everything they can to protect our right to armed self-defense. 

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