Oregon State Sen. Betsy Johnson: Jeff Mapes and OFF are full of it

[maxomai]

Earlier today, I linked to this post by Jeff Mapes of the Oregonian regarding possible gun legislation in this legislative session. His read on it was that something was in the works, based in part on Senator Betsy Johnson's remarks:

But senators are continuing to talk about the issue behind the scenes, and it appears that Johnson is amenable to a compromise, particularly on what she calls, in a recent Facebook post, "reasonable gun background check legislation."

This got the Oregon Firearms Federation all riled up.

Senator Betsy Johnson, who until now has been a solid “no” on new gun restrictions, appears to be changing her mind.

After a stint away from the Capitol due to a car accident, she has said she is open to a “reasonable background check bill.”

NY billionaire Michael Bloomberg just dropped over a million dollars in Nevada to ram through this kind of new attack on gun rights. And we know he’s planning to spend heavily here in Oregon.

Well, Senator Betsy Johnson has responded with an email, and her answer, basically, is that it's all bullpucky.

from: Sen Johnson <sen.betsyjohnson@state.or.us>
to: "maxomai@gmail.com" <maxomai@gmail.com>
date: Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 5:49 PM
subject: RE: No to Bloomberg's Money
mailed-by: state.or.us

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your email.

I have not changed my position on any of the gun bills being proposed; should they come to the floor of the Senate, I will still be a no.

With respect to what has been posted elsewhere, here is exactly what was reported in my facebook post:

"May 31

Budgets, background checks public safety on 'This Week with State Senator Betsy Johnson'. Senator Johnson says legislators are busily working on budgets and some legislators are also talking about reasonable gun background check legislation. Senator Johnson says she has nothing specific to share about any potential legislation, it's just an early conversation, but it is a bi-partisan effort to close some loopholes in Oregon's gun background check system. Senator Johnson says 2nd amendment rights are being respected, and she believes there needs to have a way to have folks who have been adjudicated as mentally ill to be added to the gun registry, so that person would not be able to own a gun. Senator Johnson says nothing on the gun issue has dramatically changed, other than some Democrats and Republicans are sitting down together -- she says gun safety awareness courses are part of this preliminary conversation. 4 previous gun bills are gone and won't be heard. Senator Johnson says those four bills will not be the basis of any conversation about gun laws going on now. She says there is no specific legislation being discussed at this point, and right now, it's just talking."

As you can see, my comments have to do with better reporting of adjudicated mental conditions to NICS (an area that Oregon has a dismal track record on), and promote (NOT MANDATE!) gun safety courses (think a Hunter’s Safety Course).

During this entire “gun” discussion, these are two areas that have most often been mentioned by pro 2A constituents. For the Oregonian, OFF or others to somehow “extrapolate” more into what I have said would be, well, I’ll let you decide.

In any event, I am sorry that recent reports have caused you concern. I have not, and will not, be changing my position on the proposed bills.

And, I have nothing to do with the New York folks.

I hope this clarifies the issue a bit. If I can offer any additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best regards,

Betsy
(503) 986-1716

It's possible, of course, that Johnson is lying here. After all, she's a politician, and such persons are known to bend the truth a bit. But odds are, now, that further legislation is off the table, and that Jeff Mapes and the OFF are making much ado about nothing.