New law makes it way too easy to take
guns away from people without cause
by REP. E. WERNER RESCHKE Guest Writerfor Herald and News
Rep. E. Werner Reschke
represents District 56 in the Oregon Legislature. The district
covers southern Klamath County, including Klamath Falls and part
of Lake County.
Our
system of government is both unique and powerful with “We
The People” being in charge. This is a captivating concept
where the people in the United States of America consent to
be governed. To bring this concept to the state level, when
we dislike the way we are being governed — with unfair laws—
there are various means to change the government to better
serve us, through public protests, elections and voter
referendums.
To
this point, Senate Bill 719 was passed by the Oregon
Legislature in the 2017 session and signed into law by the
governor. This new law fails all citizens by being in direct
violation of the Second Amendment of our Constitution. SB
719 was originally well-intended to remove guns from the
possession of someone who is mentally unstable, however it
is unlawful and unconstitutional.
SB 719
calls for the forced confiscation of property (guns) by the
police with no due process, no conviction of a crime and no
accusation of a crime. It allows anyone, including strangers
off the street, to make assessments and a case before a
judge.
It
allows judges, with no mental health credentials, to render
judgment on another person’s state of mind whom they have
never met or spoken to. Furthermore, it actually forbids
judges from considering assessments of the respondent’s
mental health by people who actually do have mental health
credentials. The law even goes so far to allow a judge to
confiscate every firearm in a household because one person
in the household has a past DUI conviction.
SB 719
declares guilty first—without due process—which is
unconstitutional. Only after judgement is rendered, and guns
are confiscated by police, is the person allowed the right
to prove their innocence. This is completely opposite of how
our country is supposed to work. Due process is built upon
the concept of innocent until proven guilty. SB 719 reverses
that foundational right. While the intent of the bill may be
noble, in trying to prevent suicide, the actual results of
this law are an insult to every American.
I ask
you to join with me in repealing this unconstitutional
Oregon law.
My colleagues and I, in the House of Representatives, have
started a petition to collect signatures to put SB 719 on
the 2018 Ballot so “we the people” can vote on it. Help us
repeal this new Oregon law, so government can serve us
better by protecting our 2nd Ammendment right to bear arms,
not take it away. I urge you to visit www.Repeal719.com for
more details.
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