What do you guys think this means for Oregon gun owners?

[Joe Link]

I just saw this while reading the paper this morning and it really took me back. Whether or not you like Democrats it's nice to know some of the ones who aren't anti's are doing something about it and not sitting back while their party walks on our 2A right.

Oregon Democrats form Gun Owners Caucus

By Jim Redden

The Portland Tribune 20.8 hours ago
Trout Unlimited

In a bid to blunt the Republican Party’s appeal to gun owners, the Democratic Party of Oregon voted over the weekend to form a Gun Owners Caucus made up of party members who own firearms.

Although the caucus is intended to include Democrats throughout the state, it was sponsored by Portland party activist Jim Robinson.

“Being from Portland makes Jim a perfect sponsor for showing who we are,” said supporter and party activist Zak Johnson. “Republicans outside the Willamette Valley try to win votes by running against the boogieman of a Portland liberal, but I know a lot of Portland liberals who own guns and support the Second Amendment. Democrats are the party of civil rights, and gun ownership is our right that protects the rest.”

Party executive director Neel Pender confirmed the caucus is intended to counter the image of Democrats as anti-Second Amendment.

“There are a lot of Democratic sportsmen and women who are tired of the right wing hijacking gun issues,” Pender said. “They want to have an official voice within the party on Second Amendment issues.”

Oregon Republican Party officials could not be reached for comment.

The vote to form the caucus occurred during a quarterly meeting of the party’s State Central Committee on Saturday in Salem. The move is part of a national effort by the party to reach out to gun owners. Several prominent Democrats publicly have declared their support of the Second Amendment in recent years, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Nevada U.S. Sen. and Minority Leader Harry Reid.

 

[LAR-15]

Right wing hijacking gun issues?

I saw Nancy Pelosi shooting machineguns with Dick Cheney on CNN yesterday.......yeah

 

[AJ Dual]

If it's mere posturing and flim-flam, like all the "Kerry 'goin huntin" photo-ops you'll know.

Also, if you hear the "code words" like "We don't want to take away guns from hunters" (What about the rest of us? Etc.), you'll know.

How will they vote on gun issues? Will they buck their party?

I think everyone who pays attention to RKBA issues will know if they're genuine or not.

We've had a problem with "pro gun" Democrats here in WI in our battles to get CCW permits passed. We get several "rural" or "conservative" Democratic votes for the bills, but come the veto-override session, one or two will allways defect for some "excuse" with the bill, like record keeping, or claiming that a "media shield" provision would harm LEO's trying to check if someone has a permit, etc.

That makes it very hard to see who the true pro-gun Democrat votes in WI are when we all know some of them are only voting for pro-gun bills knowing that the fix is in and it will fail to pass, and that a "supporter" has pulled their name out of a hat for their turn as the "sacrificial lamb".

OTOH, the fact that the "Gun Issue" is now powerful enough to make Democrats "fake it" is a good sign in of itself. If we can keep it up, eventualy they'll "mean it"...

 

[ChestyP]

75+ million gun owners in the U.S. Four million NRA members. Do the math. There are a lot of gun owners out there who don't want to get political. Period.

I know several Democrat gun owners. I know and work with several pro-gun Democrat legislators, in Congress and in the Washington state legislature. They're in the minority. The Democrat party still leads the charge against gun owners. And there are enough anti-gun Republicans to make up the difference.

If the Democrats control the process (e.g. committee chairmanships), anti-gun bills will likely move. If the Democrats regain control of the House this year, Michigan Democrat John Conyers is in line to become House Judiciary Committee chair. When that happens, and Speaker Pelosi sets the floor agenda, watch out.

Just as with the American Hunting & Shooting Association, these Democrat "gun owner caucuses" are out there to confuse gun owners. Don;t buy into it.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Trusting representatives of the Democratic (sic) party is like convincing yourself you have only a mild, temporary case of AIDS.

 

[rev214]

75+ million gun owners in the U.S. Four million NRA members. Do the math. There are a lot of gun owners out there who don't want to get political. Period.

They're going to HAVE to if the Pelois/Conyers Freak Show opens in Washington in January...

Just as with the American Hunting & Shooting Association, these Democrat "gun owner caucuses" are out there to confuse gun owners. Don;t buy into it.

Exactly!
They're doing it with gun owners, and they're even gettin' religion this campaign season...

 

[longeyes]

They're going to HAVE to if the Pelois/Conyers Freak Show opens in Washington in January...

If things go south this November there will be ample cause for a new level of gun-rights militancy. We have to keep making clear to "them" that we are not about to be disarmed.

 

[ajkurp]

“There are a lot of Democratic sportsmen and women who are tired of the right wing hijacking gun issues,” Pender said. “They want to have an official voice within the party on Second Amendment issues.”

I'm not takin' that old bait. The right guaranteed by the wording of the Second Amendment ain't about 'sporting purpose'.

Crawl back under your rock.

 

[tellner]

ajkurp, wake up. Pull your head out and actually read what was written. Did they say that in the piece of the article that was quoted? Nowhere. You've got a tape running in your head that goes "librals, Democrats, guns, danger, evil" over and over again. In this case it looks like there might be someone who isn't just like you who shares your opinion on an important issue. If you'd prefer to go back to the cold comforts of your own hatred that's understandable but not terribly flattering.

 

[Tommygunn]

Right wing hijacking gun issues? I saw Nancy Pelosi shooting machineguns with Dick Cheney on CNN yesterday.......yeah

Did she survive???

 

[Cosmoline]

I know lots of "Republicans" who are as anti as Kennedy and plenty of Dems who get high ranks from the NRA. I'm sick of being told I must support a party with pigs like "America's Mayor" in it. I think we're better served choosing the best candidate on the issue, rather than ordered to support whatever insanity the GOP has planned.

 

[TexasRifleman]

I think we're better served choosing the best candidate on the issue

You are right, but in the end that DOES come down to the GOP most of the time at least regarding firearms, certainly often enough to give them power to implement whatever insanity they cook up.

The alternative is worse.

 

[Zundfolge]

Its one of two things:

• Honest to God, pro RKBA folk who happen to be Democrats but happen to agree with gun rights supporters (and not just hunting and trap shooting).
• Just more "Sportsmen" who will sell handgunners, self defense, IPSC/IDPA and "Assault" weapons owners down the river at a moments notice.

Problem with the folk in group #1 is that the DNC will tolerate them up until about 3 minutes after the DNC gets in power and then will toss them aside and push their typical anti 2A agenda.

I believe there are honest to God pro RKBA Democrats out there, but its their anti RKBA brethren that run the show.

 

[wingnutx]

If they are sincere then this is great.

My own Democrat governor said this:

The right to bear arms is enumerated in the Constitution, and is therefore fundamental to the liberty interests of all Americans. I believe elected officials have a duty to ensure that these interests are not abridged. My position on the 2nd Amendment is simple: existing laws related to firearms and their possession are a sufficient framework by which to ensure the safety of all Arizonans. Rather than focusing on new legislation, we must first be vigilant in our enforcement of the laws that are on the books. We must step up outreach and education efforts to ensure that gun safety is at the top the agenda, and work together to mitigate tragic accidents that result from unsupervised firearm use by children. Parents talking to their children about gun safety and practicing gun safety in front of them will accomplish this goal, new legislation will not.

But then she also vetoed this:

SB 1425 Vetoed legislation that would have prohibited the confiscation of firearms in an emergency. The governor said this has never and would never happen in Arizona, but it was exactly what happened in New Orleans to law-abiding gun owners trying to defend their property from looters after Hurricane Katrina.

She's pretty good for a dem, imho.

Better than plenty of R's back east.

 

[Zedicus]

75+ million gun owners in the U.S. Four million NRA members. Do the math. There are a lot of gun owners out there who don't want to get political. Period.

I don't think it's a case of "Not wanting" to do anything, but rather a Lot of Fudd's/Turncoats as well as many who are just incredibly Apathetic and just don't care.

 

[AJ Dual]

There are a lot of Democratic sportsmen and women

Going back to what I said about "code" from politicians claiming to be pro-gun, well there it is...

 

[Cosmoline]

Forget about putting your trust in any politicians. R or D, they're the same at heart and will blow where the wind goes. Maybe the question should be why Al Gore or Pete Defazio went south, but what gun owners could have done to keep them from writing us off.

 

[1911Tuner]

Rights

Judgement call...Jumpin' on the bandwagon that they fell off of a while back...and paid for it dearly. Now they're ready to play the concede and negotiate approach. So would the rabbit speak with the fox, if he but could.

The problem is that the "Support for 2A" stance that many of them offer is in the context of: "I'm a good guy! I believe in your right to hunt ducks!"



2A doesn't state that we have the right to keep and bear sporting goods.
Sport has nothing to do with it, and they know it. That's what concerns'em. When your adversary wants to open negotiations...you know you've got him on the ropes. Keep punchin'!

 

[Sage Thrasher]

Discussion much appreciated

"2A doesn't state that we have the right to keep and bear sporting goods."

That's one of the funniest, truest things I've ever heard. Thanks for that!

I can't speak for everyone, because political parties are made up of individuals, but as one of the people most involved in the creation of the Gun Owners Caucus, I can tell you what I and the 20-25 people who've joined up since our formation a week ago think about the 2nd Amendment:

We think it's not about hunting. It's about the ability of the population to preserve the rest of its rights. As a liberal, I view the successes of the labor movement and the civil rights movement both as positive developments in our history. Neither movement would have been successful in a country with an unarmed population. (It is not lost on me that the first gun control laws were part of "Jim Crow.")

Protect your rights--defend your Constitution. ALL of it, not just the parts you find convenient at a given moment. That's our plan.

 

[Prince Yamato]

“There are a lot of Democratic sportsmen and women who are tired of the right wing hijacking gun issues,” Pender said.

Others pointed it out. It's the sportsmen's clause as I like to refer to it. In this case, Pender was PC and included women... how cute. See, the second amendment is not about hunting. These idiots STILL don't get it after 12 years...

 

[Ryder]

but I know a lot of Portland liberals who own guns

And how many of those are NOT drug addicts?

Just the kind of people conservative gun owners are longing to assoicate with!

 

[Third_Rail]

Ryder, what a nice stereotypic generalization!


So, if someone supports the entire BoR, but happens to like drugs other than alcohol and tobacco, they're evil and hurt the cause? Not to mention you were the one who said they're all drug addicts.


You're just the kind of person liberal gun owners are longing to associate with!

 

[RocketMan]

Welcome aboard “The High Road”, Sage Thrasher. Pull up a stump and sit awhile. New guy buys the ammo, by the way.

You’ll have to forgive our reservations about your new group, the Gun Owners Caucus. We’ve seen other supposedly pro-RKBA organizations spring up from behind the Left side of the fence before. The Americans for Gun Safety and The American Hunters and Shooters Association come immediately to mind.
Initially they espouse pro-2nd Amendment beliefs, but eventually they trot out the usual tired caveats about reasonable gun controls and restrictions, not wanting to infringe on the sporting use of firearms, etc.
We’ve seen this too many times to be fooled again. Pender’s statement about “Democratic sportsmen” in the Oregonian story raised an immediate red flag in the minds of many here. Based on what you said in your first post, you should know why.
Your organization will have to prove itself, prove its intentions through its actions. If the GOC is what it claims to be, it will be another valuable voice defending the RKBA. (Especially here in Oregon.)
Time will tell.

 

[1911Tuner]

re:

RocketMan Wrote:

>You’ll have to forgive our reservations about your new group, the Gun Owners Caucus. We’ve seen other supposedly pro-RKBA organizations spring up from behind the Left side of the fence before.<
*******************

Yep. I tend to stop listenin' whenever somebody who claims to support RKBA uses "Firearms" and "Sporting" in the same sentence.

 

[Stickjockey]

First of all, welcome to THR, SageThrasher!

This:

...I know a lot of Portland liberals who own guns and support the Second Amendment...gun ownership is our right that protects the rest.”

is a good start. However, this:

"There are a lot of Democratic sportsmen and women who are tired..."

comes very close to cancelling the positive of the first quote. Most gun owners I know are tired of the "We don't want to take your hunting rifles" crowd stabbing us in the back. We've seen target rifles become ".50 caliber death machines capable of shooting down airliners from five miles away," affordable handguns become "Saturday Night Specials, designed for nothing but killing people," midrange-powered semi automatic rifles become "high-powered assault weapons capable of killing multiple people at the pull of a trigger;" I'm sure you've heard more. All the best, but I'll have to reserve my opinion.