Oregon lawmakers gave final approval to a bill Thursday that would allow a judge to remove guns from a person found to be a threat to themselves or others.
The controversial gun legislation was sent to Gov. Kate Brown on a 31-28 vote by the House as legislators raced to complete their 2017 session.
Senate Bill 719 is modeled after a Washington initiative approved by voters there last November.
Guns for sale at a Portland gun show.
Dave Blanchard / OPB
The issue gained traction in the Oregon Legislature when Republican Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, supported the measure as a way to reduce the growing epidemic of veteran suicides. The year before, Boquist's stepson, Sethan Sprague, returned home after serving in combat with the U.S. Navy.
The Oregon bill would allow family members or law enforcement to take steps to remove "dangerous weapons" from someone they think is dangerous to self or others.
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They could petition a judge for an “extreme risk protection order." The target of the order could seek a hearing to contest the loss of firearms or other deadly weapons. But if unsuccessful, the order would last a year and could be renewed.
Republican lawmakers voted unanimously against the bill, with several saying it went too far in taking away gun rights.
House Minority Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, said the measure's wording was vague about when a person is a danger and said it could be broadly applied. He also warned the measure could put police in a tough position when they attempt to enforce an order by removing guns and potentially certain kinds of knives from someone's home.
House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland, countered that Second Amendment rights are not unlimited and this bill was a measured way to help reduce gun violence.
The bill's passage also quickly attracted national notice.
Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who became a gun control activist after she was shot and seriously wounded, issued a statement calling it a "responsible bill that helps keep guns out of the hands of an individual experiencing a mental health crisis."
