THEY WILL CALL UPON STATE LEGISLATORS FRIDAY to “SHOW SOME COURAGE”
Ceasefire Oregon will go to Salem on Friday, December 14, to seek legislative sponsors for a measure to ban the sale of assault weapons in Oregon. Ceasefire Oregon’s objective is to have Oregon join the seven states and the District of Columbia that have enacted laws banning assault weapons (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York).
The Oregon Legislature is scheduled to convene for a one-day special session called by Governor John Kitzhaber to pass a corporate tax bill for Nike. “We’re hoping to find a legislator in Salem with the courage to sponsor a bill banning the sale of assault weapons in Oregon,” stated Penny Okamoto, executive director of Ceasefire Oregon.
In the immediate aftermath of the Clackamas Town Center shooting on Tuesday, December 11, the group issued a renewed call for enactment of an assault weapons ban. On that day, shooter Jacob Tyler Roberts killed two mall patrons and injured one before killing himself. Authorities say Roberts carried an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle and was wearing an ammunition-loaded vest. Reportedly, the weapon jammed at one point, lessening the death toll. Ceasefire Oregon issued a similar call for a ban on assault weapons following the massacre in Aurora in July 2012.
Okamoto noted that state Senator Ginny Burdick’s proposed legislation to ban oversized ammunition magazines represents a major step in the campaign to stop the mass killings associated with semi-automatic weapons. “We need more legislators like Ginny Burdick. Congress has failed to act, and the President has failed to lead. The Oregon Legislature needs to show some courage and protect our citizens from these weapons. Next time, the gun might not jam,” said Okamoto.
At the end of the day, Ceasefire Oregon will issue a statement identifying legislators who have agreed to sponsor a ban on assault weapons in Oregon.
