After two recent lawsuits raised questions about the legality of state universities’ bans on concealed handguns, the state Senate decided Wednesday to weigh in on the subject.
At an informal hearing before the Senate’s Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, Bend lawyer and former Sen. Neil Bryant, who served on the committee for eight years, requested the legislature form a working group to attempt to resolve the legal issues surrounding the bans.
The main case in question was filed by the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation and petitions the court to determine the validity of the Oregon University System’s handgun ban, which affects those licensed to carry concealed handguns.
“It’s a basic question of whether or not educational institutions have the authority to regulate weapons on their campus,” Bryant said.
However, Bryant said oral arguments in the case will to be heard until early spring of 2010. In the meantime, he urged the Senate to “be proactive.”
During the question and answer portion of the hearing, Bryant repeated the OUS’ position that handguns are fundamentally unsafe in a campus environment.
“Let’s say you’ve got a concealed handgun,” Bryant said. “It’s there legally. You’ve got a permit. Your friends and you had a few beers and someone says, ‘Hey, you know, I’d like to see your .357 Magnum or whatever.’ And you take it out. You start handling it or using it.Hopefully it’s not loaded. Or you’ve broken up with your girlfriend, and you’re under extreme stress because of that, or maybe you’re really unhappy with the professor in a class. You know, just why have the availability of a handgun on campus?”
DPS Director Doug Tripp and other campus safety officers from around the state were on hand to answer questions, but no questions were directed at them.
Rep. Kim Thatcher, an outspoken supporter of allowing licensed concealed handguns on campus, tried to speak at one point, her policy director, Dawn Phillips, said. Phillips said committee chair Floyd Prozanski did not allow Thatcher to speak.
Sen. Prozanski initially expressed disinclination to forming the group, saying it would take too much of time and that the group “may need some guidance from the courts.”
But in the end, the judiciary committee tentatively decided to convene the working group by Nov. 19. The committee hopes to form the group from a wide variety of ideologies and backgrounds — pro-gun and anti-gun, members from OUS, campus safety and law enforcement and others.
Meanwhile, another decision is pending from the Oregon Court of Appeals that, while not directly involving the OUS, still has potential ramifications. An anonymous Medford school teacher sued the school district after she was fired for carrying a concealed handgun. The teacher claimed she feared for her safety after divorcing her abusive ex-husband.
Because the case concerns employers’ internal policy and state law, the case could overlap into the OUS debate, depending on how broadly the court rules.
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Handgun ban gets second look
Daily Emerald
September 30, 2009
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