Oregon Firearms Federation Attempts To Slander A Legislator's Family And It Backfires

Screenpic from the OFF Facebook page.

The most outspoken "gun rights" organization in Oregon is the Oregon Firearms Federation, which bills itself as "Oregon's only no compromise gun rights organization" and considers the NRA to be too weak and compromising!  This is the same organization that is responsible for allowing concealed guns on university grounds and has, among other things, pushed to legislatively mandate that school kids get hands-on training with guns as young as kindergarten, allow felons to get their guns back, and trying to abolish background checks being performed by the state police.  The organization and its Executive Director, Kevin Starrett, have routinely harassed legislators and gun violence prevention advocates.

But they tried to push the personal harassment up a notch by posting on their Facebook page what they felt was a scandalous picture.  In what could only be called a juvenile attempt worthy of some schoolyard bully, they posted a photo of a relative of a legislator (Chuck Schumer), whom they oppose, in the hopes of embarrassing that legislator and his family.

See the screenpic to the right.   The caption that OFF posted (most likely by Starrett) with the picture reads:

I bring you... Amy Schumer. Foul mouthed, anti-gun militant and cousin to gun grabber Chucky Schumer. Of course, she is a vocal feminist and opposed to the degrading of women. But here she is in a tire calendar. Sorry I know it's hard on the eyes, but you cannot make this stuff up.

See their posting HERE before they take it down in shame.

Some OFF Supporters, cued by OFF's caption, responded in kind with even worse comments:

So, the Michelin Man(Schumer) finally put out a calendar? 

Soooo, she oposes degradation of women, and poses semi nude? Her hypocrisy knows no bounds. 

I wouldn't take her to a shit fight as a shield 

What a tramp 

I think she has a dam sexy body, I would love to try to FiretrUCK the liberal out of her. 

She looks like a spare tire... 

Skank hoe 

Jeez ...well there goes dinner. Some things you just can't unsee

My first thought upon seeing the image was one of skepticism.  It's the standard practice of OFF to distort the truth or outright lie to get their way.  Did they Photoshop her face on another picture?  Or is this a photo taken out of context?  So I did a reverse Google image search of the picture.  What it led to were a number of art and photography blogs celebrating the picture.  When I followed the links back to the original image, I was floored by what I found...

The image is indeed of Amy Schumer...  by renowned artistic photographer Annie Leibovitz!  You may know her best for her celebrity pictures, such as the ones of John Lennon and Yoko Ono taken in 1980 that landed the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.  HERE is a photo gallery of a sampling of other celebrity photos she has taken.  

The photo of Amy Schumer is one of a series taken for the 2016 Pirelli Tire Company Calendar.  According to CNN, the calendar focuses on female celebrities who are breaking down sexist barriers.  Other celebrities in the project include Serena Williams, Yoko Ono, and director Ava DuVernay.

Amy Schumer, by the way, is a well-known comedian, writer, actress, and producer.  Wikipedia states that "her father is second cousin to U.S. senator Chuck Schumer."

Here is a link to the official Pirelli Calendar homepage and behind-the-scenes video, which includes a quick statement by Schumer, saying, "I felt I looked more beautiful than I've ever looked in my life." -- http://pirellicalendar.pirelli.com/en/the-cal-2016/home

Wow.  So this isn't some "skank" pin-up photo, as implied by OFF... This is an honor and a statement on realistic feminine beauty taken by a renowned photographer!

The true meaning of the image seems totally lost to OFF, naturally, who can't seem to see past their own sexism and their hatred of a legislator who has supported commonsense gun reforms.

And the image is backfiring.  Quite a lot of OFF Facebook visitors are calling them out on their childish attempt at slander, particularly women.  Here are some of their comments on that posting:

When you degrade and insult her for her physical appearance you lose the credibility and integrity of your argument. Point out her hypocrisy or make a case against her views that oppose yours. Don't roll in the mud with everybody else who resorts to personal attacks 

Somebody didn't get the point of the photo. She posed for this to show people that you don't have to be "perfect" to be comfortable with who you are and how you look 

Wow, what a bunch of a-holes some of you are! Take on her politics not her appearance. Jerks! 

Quit posting childish bullshit like this if you want to keep getting my money. 

Wow. As a 5th generation Oregonian, commercial fisherman, country girl who loves her guns and everyone else's right to own them - you lost me here. To you "grown men" calling her fat and gross: let's see your abs. Fucking ridiculous. I'm out. 

She is a beautiful Mature Woman and you guys are ignorant of true beauty if you cant see that!!!! 

Apologize and remove or I will never support OFF again. Screen shot taken to shame you if this is not removed. 

Poor taste, OFF, you're better than this. 

I will no longer be supporting OFF. Shame on you. 

what a bunch of asses...i'm deleting this page now...no longer following..

 I know and have worked for a few businesses that promote OFF. I'm getting the feeling that a lot of fliers, stickers, and pamphlets are going to be coming off the counters today. 

I guess you could say that OFF really dropped their pants on this one.  Or rather, Amy Schumer did it for them!

Leave it to OFF to make a fool of themselves in their ever-present push to harass and intimidate those who want to protect our society from gun violence.  Just another reason to stop supporting them, and another reason for our legislators to turn their back on such a horrible organization.
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Oregon Is Taking A Decisive Step In Protecting Women Against Domestic Violence Shootings

(UPDATED -- See below)

Guns and domestic violence go hand-in-hand.  Here in Oregon, 55-71% of domestic violence murder victims are shot, and 44% of women murdered with guns in the United States were killed by a current or former intimate partner.

And yet, Oregon is one of the states with most lax gun laws regarding protecting women from domestic violence shootings.  Here in Oregon, convicted stalkers can still keep their guns, as can those who have a restraining order.  And though a felony domestic assault can stop a husband from owning a gun if he abuses his spouse, boyfriends and domestic partners with misdemeanor domestic assault convictions don't count; they can still own a gun.

This issue touches me personally.  I have one friend whose abusive husband held a gun to her head, execution-style, and threatened to kill her.  Another friend lost her sister in a shooting by an abusive husband.  And there are other cases that I don't mention due to privacy of the victims.

Here are just a few recent cases of domestic violence shootings in Oregon so far this year.:

• January 25, Oregon City, Oregon -- 55-year old Timothy Oliver Moffatt's wife had a restraining order again him after harassment and assault. But he followed her in his car, then shot her multiple times before shooting himself.  Both were in critical condition.
•  April 23, Portland, Oregon -- Police responded to find that 57-year old John Grant Coffey shot his wife to death during a domestic disturbance.
• May 20, Medford, Oregon -- 28-year-old Charles Perowski shot and killed his 30-year-old wife, Jessica Thompson, before he turning the gun on himself in a suicide.  Their 12 year old daughter and 9 year old son were in the home.
• June 6, Gresham, Oregon -- 44-year old Gerardo Gomez Ventura shot and killed his wife.
• June 9, Sandy, Oregon -- 29-year-old Stephen Burlison threatened his girlfriend with a gun.  The woman's father pulled out a gun of his own.  Burlison fled, fired a bb gun at the pair, then was in a chase with police, firing at them, before being captured.

And many more make headlines every week around the nation.  How many of these cases could have been prevented if the state had done a better job of keeping guns out of the hands of violent spouses and partners?

Now Oregon has taken a step in preventing domestic violence shootings.

Things are about to change, thanks to Oregon Senate Bill 525.  This bill has been passed in both the Senate and the House, with bi-partisan support passing the House 51-8, and now goes to the Governor, who is expected to sign it.  It is modeled after the recently-passed California "Gun Violence Restraining Order" law.



What does the bill do? This bill will prohibit possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person with a restraining order protecting intimate partners or children of intimate partners, or people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes against family members.  

And since restraining orders are temporary, so too is the prohibition of gun ownership in those cases.  If they clear their name, their rights are restored.

The NRA, and the GOP leadership they pay, oppose these measures.  They prefer to keep arming the abusers.  Any gun sale is a good one to them.  Follow the money.  This, despite the fact that 68% of GOP voters support these laws, as well as 71% of women.

But I guess it's not surprising that the gun lobby would be out of touch.  They've been supportive of the abusers for years.  

The NRA and the Gun Owners of America have said such laws "stigmatize" those poor, violent, gun-owning wife-beaters. We wouldn't want that, would we?  I mean, the right of a wife-beater to own a gun must surely trump the lives and welfare of their wives, right?

Consider also the Oregon Firearms Federation (OFF), the "no compromise" gun lobby in Oregon, which opposes the bill because people with restraining orders haven't yet been convicted of a crime and have only been charged through "assumptions."  Nevermind that a judge weighed the evidence and deemed that person dangerous enough to tell them to keep their distance.

But then, OFF has never been one to respect women.  Consider, for instance, a recent post to the OFF Facebook page, describing the female representatives of Moms Demand Action Against Gun Violence as "prostitutes of the anti-gun movement" as well as "Stepford Wives," "zombies," and "robots."  (see screencapture above, left).

And in another OFF Facebook posting, they described female members of Ceasefire Oregon as "Bloomberg whores" as well as "liars" belonging to a "coven."  (see screencapture at right)

These sexist, arrogant, and crude attempts to belittle women are part and parcel of the gun rights movement.  

I'm happy, at least, that Oregon legislators have seen past it and done what is right to create a safer environment for Oregon women.  Now, we need to extend that to the rest of the nation!

Ceasefire Oregon would like to thank the thoughtful legislators who voted for this bill.  Now, on to the Governor!

UPDATE (6/18/15):  Governor Brown has now signed the bill in to law!  Our thanks go out to the Governor and all the legislators and volunteers who made it happen.  Domestic violence victims throughout Oregon will be safer now.  The bill goes into effect January 1, 2016.

Addendum (6/19/15):  Get the statistics and facts on domestic violence, here:  http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/06/us/domestic-intimate-partner-violence-fast-facts/

The NRA's "Good Guys" Propaganda Video

(UPDATED -- See below)

I'm laughing today at a propaganda video put out by the NRA for their convention, which is happening right now.

Here, see if for yourself.  I want everyone to see the sort of fearmongering they are pushing...


Did you notice that one of the narrators is a black man and another is a woman?  I wonder why they chose them for this?  Could it be because gun ownership is incredibly low in those demographics?  Probably because women who live in a home with guns are FAR more likely to be victims of shootings in domestic violence incidents, and Blacks are FAR more likely to be shot to death than Whites.

Let's take a moment to analyze some of what they say in the video.  See below for some selected quotes uttered by the three, very-sincere narrators in the video....

Do you still believe in good guys?

Why yes, yes I do, but that doesn't automatically count anyone who can legally buy a gun.  I've seen too many reports of the sort of people whom the NRA labels as "good guys" go on shooting rampages.  Consider, for instance, the 475 shooters who had legal conceal carry permits, whose shootings led to 636 deaths, as chronicled by the Violence Policy Center.

You are surrounded by a world where madmen are famous and good ones forgotten

Madmen?  Like the racist, insurrectionist rancher, Cliven Bundy, who has gathered together a bunch of armed militia to help him continue illegally grazing his cattle without paying for it?  And good ones?  Like Jordan Davis, the unarmed teen who was shot to death by an armed "good guy" who didn't like Davis' music being played too loud and who wasn't convicted for the crime of killing the boy?  No, sadly, the NRA and their followers reverse that order.

Doors are locked and streets have gone silent.

Where the gates of success swing open for hypocrites, chameleons, bullies, and yes-men.

Where filthy crimes go unpunished, and killers and con artists prey upon anyone who still follows the rules.

Wow. That's a really bleak picture they paint!  The NRA loves to roll out their circus of fear!  Makes me afraid to go out my locked door into the silent street.  From the sound of it, killers and con-artists (why not throw in zombies, too?) are waiting to prey on me.  I'd better arm myself!

Can you think of any "filthy crimes" that have gone unpunished?  I certainly can.  But if the crime involves a gun, you can bet the NRA has turned its head and done nothing to keep it from happening again.  It couldn't possibly have been committed by one of their "good guys."  And who are they thinking of when they refer to hypocrites?  Maybe THIS GUY?  Surely, when they mention "chameleons," they aren't thinking of THIS GUY, right?  And when they say "bullies," are they talking about THESE GUYS, who stalked unarmed women out to lunch?  Somehow I doubt it.

[The video then evokes heroic personas of police, soldiers in battle, and firefighters, putting themselves in harm's way -- the implication, of course, is that anyone who carries a gun can be like those people!]

It takes courage to be free.  A special kind of backbone to reject the world that surrounds you.

Yes, let's evoke words like "courage" and "freedom" to sell your guns, NRA. It's a recurring theme.  But be sure to reinforce the anti-government propaganda that you've been spewing.  Make it seem "courageous" to reject the world surrounding you.  I mean, it takes a "backbone" to be fringe, right?

Normal, everyday people who aren't drinking the NRA Kool-Aid can see this video for what it is: 
fearmongering with lots of patriotic dressing, intended to rile up NRA members into buying more guns. 

How do you identify a "good guy with a gun" anyhow?

I've seen lots of reports in the last few days that make me question who the NRA thinks of as "good guys."  Like THIS GUY, who strapped on his handgun and terrorized kids and moms at a little league baseball game.  Thanks to the NRA, the police couldn't do anything to stop him.  Or THIS GUY, who opened fire on police with an AK-47 assault rifle when they knocked on his door to see if he had witnessed a car crash in front of his house.  Or THIS GUY, who had a loaded, unsecured handgun in a bag and, dropping it, unintentionally shot his wife in the ass.  Or the parents of THIS TEEN, who allowed their AK-47 assault rifle and other guns to get into his hands and take them to school with him to threaten others.  Or the parents of THIS 8-YEAR OLD KID, who allowed their assault rifle to get into his hands so that he shot at people with it.  As far as I can tell, none of these "law abiding gun owners" had been prohibited from owning their guns.  Are they NRA "good guys" too (until they weren't)??

It's time to reject the NRA propaganda and expose it for what it is and take REAL steps to keep guns out of the hands of the bad guys!


UPDATE (4/29/14):  No sooner had I posted this when a news report came in:  Six people were shot by a deranged and armed man at a FedEx facility in Kennesaw, Georgia.  Two people are critically injured, and the shooter then shot himself to death.  Why is this relevant to this post?  Because Kennesaw is a town which passed a law REQUIRING every household to own a gun!!  If you followed the NRA "logic", then a shooting of this magnitude just shouldn't be possible.  With all those armed "good guys" around, the shooter shouldn't have been able to kill before being killed, and in a state which recently passed the "guns everywhere" law, no less!

From the article:

The Georgia facility is located in Kennesaw, near Atlanta, a quiet suburb unique in the U.S. for mandating every household own at least one gun. The law is not enforced, so the Kennesaw gun ownership rate hovers around 50 percent, according to its police chief. That’s still higher than the average rate of gun ownership in the U.S., estimated to be about 34 percent. When the law was enacted in 1982, Kennesaw had only 5,000 residents. Today, it has a population of 30,000. 

The incident comes just one week after Georgia enacted what may be the nation’s most expansive concealed carry law. The National Rifle Association-sponsored “Safe Protection Act” allows gun owners to bring firearms into most public spaces, including schools, bars, churches, airports, and government buildings, even though researchers have generally found that more people die from gun homicides in areas with higher rates of gun ownership.

So much for all those "good guys with guns."