When it comes to people’s civil rights, where are the lines? For many, there’s nothing off the table when it comes to defending or restoring something like the right to keep and bear arms. Sacrifices must be made from time to time.
In Oregon, Republicans in the legislature are catching some flak at the moment, and for a pretty good reason.
They’re being accused of selling out gun owners in order to protect their own careers.
The unimaginable debacle that this Oregon legislative session has been is not quite over.
After a six-week protest that brought the left’s extremist agenda to a halt and gave hope to thousands of Oregonians, the Senate Republican Leader and a few of his more despicable cronies declared unconditional surrender and helped pass HB 2005.
Under the current version of this bill, gun owners in Oregon could face 5 years in prison and $125,000.00 fines for the crime of having built their own firearms.
For centuries Americans have been responsible for some of the greatest innovations in firearm’s technology while building and modifying firearms at home.
Personally manufactured firearms have always been legal and never required bowing to the state and applying government-regulated serial numbers for personal firearms that were not being sold. This kind of legislation has already been declared unconstitutional in other states.
The Senate Republican leader, Tim Knopp, has now crushed that personal liberty, placed gun owners in the cross hairs, and claimed it’s a massive “victory.”
Senator Lynn Findley said, “These are major victories for accountability, accessibility, and civil rights.” He then went on to attack the very bill he helped pass by showing up on the floor. You can view his comments here.
Only in the Alice in Wonderland fantasy world of politicians do people who rolled over and sold out the folks who hired them claim success when they gave up someone else’s rights.
See, apparently in Oregon, once you have 10 unexcused absences, you’re no longer eligible to run for re-election or even hold office in the future.
So, these Republicans stepped out to try and block a vote on this particular bill but then came back before they could be punished by losing the opportunity to hold office ever again. Not all did, but enough that the vote took place.
I could deal with that in and of itself. After all, one can make the case that they can do more good in office than sitting at home until the end of time.
What galls me are these Republicans apparently calling this a victory.
Plus, it seems House Republicans did pretty much nothing to try and block the passage of this bill other than some pro forma efforts that make it look like they put up a good fight without having to risk anything.
Look, I get it. Not everyone wants to put their careers on the line. They have the right to decide what matters more to them.
But what they don’t get to do is pretend that their caving on this issue is any kind of a victory. That’s the insulting part, in my mind.
So all these Republicans need to keep this in mind when they run for re-election. They may find that the voters will decide they can just stay home permanently just the same.
