Moms Travel to Salem to Press for Expanded Background Checks on All Oregon Gun Sales
On Thurs., Feb. 6, members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America will participate in the Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Senate Bill 1551, which requires a background check before a gun is sold or transferred to any other person, with exceptions for close family members.
The hearing comes just days after the release of a new poll by Public Policy Polling which demonstrated that 78 percent of Oregonians, including 75 percent of gun owners, support criminal background checks on every person who wants to buy a gun.
“Oregonians expect our State Senators to get tough on crime and protect public safety by requiring background checks for private and online gun sales,” said Sarah Finger McDonald, chapter leader for the Oregon chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Moms will not sit idly by as the gun lobby tries to stop this bill for the second time in two years.”
Several members of Moms Demand Action submitted written testimony for the hearing, including statements on personal experiences with gun violence; debunking the myths of a “gun registry” spread by bill opponents; and reiterating statistics which show that universal background checks cut gun deaths of law enforcement officers and domestic violence victims.
“It’s time we stop using our children’s lives as the luxury tax for not requiring background checks,” said Teressa Raiford, a survivor’s advocate for Moms Demand Action partner Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Raiford, whose 19-year-old nephew Andre Payton was killed by a suspected gang member in 2010, plans to testify on Thursday, just as she did in support of Senate Bill 700 during the 2013 Legislative Session.
“As Internet gun marketplaces expand, and as criminals and domestic abusers increasingly take advantage of the ‘private sale’ loophole, it is unconscionable that our Senators are even debating this law,” McDonald said. “It’s time to bring background checks to the Senate floor for a vote so Oregon moms can hold their representatives accountable for action on this most basic of gun safety laws.”
