ARS Launches Campaign to Educate Oregonians on State’s Gun Laws
April 26, 2015 – Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, announced today it has launched a statewide digital campaign to educate Oregonians on gaps in current Oregon gun laws and highlight commonsense changes that can make their communities safer.
The campaign, which will target more than 700,000 people in the state and run for the duration of the legislative session, will encourage Oregonians to contact their legislator and urge them to support current proposals that address these loopholes in the state’s guns laws.
The campaign comes as leaders in Salem consider SB 941, legislation introduced last month that would ensure background checks are required for all gun sales. The bill would address a gap in current law that allows unlicensed sellers to transfer a firearm to another person, including online purchases, without a background check.
The campaign features Oregonians – including a United States Army veteran, a current police chief, and a domestic violence prevention advocate – discussing the need for laws that make Oregon’s communities safer from gun violence, including expanded background checks; ensuring that domestic abusers can’t legally access firearms; and requiring guns to be safely stored if there are children in the household. Click here to view the ads.
Oregonians featured in the ads include:
- Lou Jaffe, Retired United States Army 1st Lieutenant and Vietnam Veteran. Mr. Jaffe discusses the importance of having background checks for all gun purchases and asks legislators to close the current loophole in Oregon law, saying “What we are asking legislators to do…is find some common ground and some commonsense solutions.” Click here to view the video featuring Mr. Jaffe.
- Lake Oswego Police Department Police Chief Don Johnson. In one video, Chief Johnson focuses on the importance of laws that require guns to be safely stored if there are children in the household, saying that “Childhood fatalities can be avoided if guns are just kept in safe and secure locations inside the home, out of reach of children.” Click here to view the video featuring Chief Johnson discussing the need for safe storage of firearms. In a second video, Chief Johnson highlights the need for background checks on all gun sales. Click here to view Chief Johnson’s call for expanded background checks in Oregon.
- Robert Yuille, U.S. Marines (Ret.). Mr. Yuille discusses the rich tradition of gun ownership in Oregon and why responsible gun owners support commonsense changes to require background checks on all gun purchases, no matter where they take place or who the seller is, to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals and the dangerously mentally ill. Click here to view the video featuring Mr. Yuille.
- Vanessa Timmons, Executive Director of the Oregon Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Ms. Timmons highlights the need for a law that ensures convicted domestic abusers are prohibited from accessing guns. “Keeping guns away from people convicted of domestic violence is common sense.” Click here to view video featuring Ms. Timmons.