Post by: csaaphill on February 13, 2013, 04:08:19 AM
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130116/NEWS/301160071/State-lawmakers-talk-gun-control (http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130116/NEWS/301160071/State-lawmakers-talk-gun-control)
Oregon lawmakers are as conflicted about solutions to gun violence as the rest of the nation, but for now it’s an issue that remains on the table in this year’s legislative session.
“I just don’t see any reason why this Legislature can’t have that public dialogue to see if we can advance some real solutions to this terrible, terrible problem,” Gov. John Kitzhaber said Tuesday during a legislative preview organized by The Associated Press.
Kitzhaber pointed to some possible solutions he would support — more rigorous criminal background checks for gun owners, barring guns from school grounds and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
But he also said the solution isn’t as simple as arguing the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.
“If we’re going to address this, we need to address this holistically,” he said, noting that other issues such as mental health, education and the economy tie in with gun violence.
Gun violence came back into the national spotlight in December after children were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn. The mass shooting occurred days after a 22-year-old gunman opened fire on shoppers and employees at the Clackamas Town Center in Oregon.
Today, President Barack Obama is expected to propose a package of executive and legislative measures to curb gun violence.
On Tuesday, New York lawmakers passed what’s being called the toughest gun control law in the nation, which limits gun magazine capacity to seven rounds and includes provisions to keep guns out of the hands of mentally-ill patients who make threats.
But with controversial decisions coming up surrounding the state’s public pension system and prisons, Oregon lawmakers expressed concern that gun control could sideline other priorities.
“We have some really difficult issues to take on,” said Speaker of the House Tina Kotek, D-Portland. “I want to make sure that we prioritize our schools and put people back to work — and also if we can have the energy to take on topics like what do you do around gun violence