Judge revises wording of Pro-Second Amendment petition

The wording of the ballot title for a potential Pro-Second Amendment measure was officially changed by a Deschutes County judge on Wednesday, and both sides in the debate think it’s an improvement on the original.

The petition is titled the Second Amendment Preservation Ordinance.

Two Bend residents separately challenged the ballot title and summary language of the petition, claiming it was confusing to potential voters.

The original petition title was written by Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel and the caption said: “Expands definition of firearms and limits enforcement of firearm laws.”

As a result of the judge’s ruling, the caption will now state: “Authorizes the sheriff to determine constitutionality and enforceability of firearm regulations.”

The proposed measure was filed by several Redmond residents, and as the summary of the petition states, it would “prohibit Deschutes County government from enforcing any law or regulation that infringes on the right of the people to possess firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition.”

The sheriff would be allowed to review federal and state laws and decide if they are constitutional. Sheriff Shane Nelson has said he supports the spirit of the proposal, but not the measure itself.

Bend resident and City Councilor Barb Campbell challenged the ballot measure because she believed the original summary did not sufficiently explain what this measure would do to the county. She does not want the petition to even make it on the ballot.

“It would forbid background checks (and) it would forbid any restrictions on any types of arms,” Campbell said. “All kinds of guns would be available for sale to all people. This initiative is trying to get out ahead of any potential laws and forbid them in the first place, and that’s not how our system works.”

The chief petitioners and supporters of the initiative, B.J. Soper and Jerrad Robison, also said they did not like the wording of the original petition. Soper said he liked the way the judge clarified the language and believes voters will find it easier to understand.

“Where is the line going to be drawn in the sand? The line was written in 1789 with the Constitution, and they made it very clear that these are our inalienable rights that will never be violated,” Soper said. “Well, over the past 242 years these rights have slowly and methodically been eroded, and we want to draw a line in the sand.”

Soper and Robison said they believe the concerns of rural communities get drowned out by more populated areas.

According to Deschutes County Clerk Nancy Blankenship, the petition will need 4,144 valid signatures to make the ballot.

“We are down to 2.5 months to collect the 4,144 signatures, but I think it’s doable,” Robison said. “We’ve got the Deschutes County Fair coming up (and) we should be able to sit down and gather, I would hope, thousands of signatures.”

The second challenger of the original ballot title, Bend resident Zandra Brant said she thought it was so vague that it was misleading. She said she does not support the proposal and believes it would drastically change the role of the sheriff.

“This is actually an administrative piece of it that is going to make (the Deschutes County sheriff) have to interpret our state and federal laws in regard to firearms, rather than enforcing the ones that are already on the books with the state of Oregon and the United States,” Brant said.

Soper and Robison will have until August 8 to collect the signatures they need, in order to put the initiative on the November ballot.