Concealed Handgun Licensees Info To Be Made Public, And What You Can Do About It
Please help us retire Judy Steigler and elect Jason Conger.
Oregon –-(AmmoLand.com)- As you may have heard, the Jackson County Sheriff has lost his battle to protect the private information of concealed handgun licensees.
The Medford Mail Tribune has demanded, and now will receive, the names, addresses, phone numbers and occupations of license holders in Jackson County. They may also demand this same information for the entire state, as can anyone, “newspaper,” “reporter” or thief. (Many applicants included their Social Security numbers. It is not at all clear if these will be available as well.)
This info was demanded so the Tribune could “out” as many teachers as possible after the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation funded a lawsuit to protect the rights of a Medford teacher.
Most sheriffs have taken steps to safeguard this information from future snooping, but those efforts have not yet faced legal scrutiny. So for now, if you are a license holder, your privacy is very much in jeopardy.
There is no reason this information should be available to the public. These are not records of “government activity” as has been falsely claimed by the “Tribune” and the ACLU. These are records of private information, extorted by the state in order for Oregonians to exercise what should be a right. There is no more a need for this information to be in the public domain than should be your tax records.
In 2009, House Rep’s Kim Thatcher and Jeff Barker introduced HB 2727 to make this data private. The bill had broad bipartisan support and seemed to be a sure thing, until House Rep Judy Steigler (D Bend), stepped in to torpedo it. Later Steigler blamed voters who strongly supported the bill for its failure! Steigler was also responsible for the death of a bill in 2009 that would have had Oregon recognize other states’ concealed handgun licenses, a bill that was strongly supported by the Oregon Sheriffs Association.
In 2011, CHL privacy legislation will almost surely be reintroduced. But we need to do all we can to make sure Steigler is not around to kill this important bill. That’s why OFFPAC is asking that you do all you can to help return Steigler to private practice and replace her with someone who respects gun rights.
Frankly, Steigler has done more to damage progress on gun rights in Oregon than even Ginny Burdick.
Ginny Burdick whose efforts to attack gun owners have been almost exclusively failures except when she had millions in out of state money and the help of John McCain. (2000’s Measure 5)
If you live in Steigler’s district, obviously, you can vote against her, but no matter where you live, you can help her opponent Jason Conger.
Remember, the laws are made by legislators whether they are in your district or not. We believe substantial progress would have been made in 2009 except for the actions of Steigler and we hope you will help us replace her.
Conger has answered our survey 100%. OFFPAC is asking that you consider the most generous donation you can make to help send Judy home and elect Jason Conger. You can contribute directly to Conger’s campaign here.
About:
The Oregon Firearms Federation has proven itself to be Oregon’s only no compromise lobbying group, OFEF takes the same tough stands and serves as a vehicle for educating gun owners, promoting their rights and when necessary, fighting the freedom haters in court. Visit: www.oregonfirearms.org