Merkley talks in Bend of gun control, refuge takeover
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., made his rounds on the High Desert Tuesday, holding three town hall meetings, the last in Bend, at which he was asked about the gun control, wildlife preservation and his stance on the wildlife refuge occupation.
COCC’S Willie Hall was packed with Central Oregonians anxious to ask or just hear what the senator had to say.
Two eighth-grade students started the question-and-answer session with a hot topic, asking, “Why hasn’t a buy-back of large-capacity ammunition devices been included in proposed legislation?”
Merkley joked about starting with an “easy” topic, but said the proposals “do address the strategy of trying to make it much more difficult for a criminal or someone deeply disturbed to get their hands on a gun.”
The inevitable question regarding the Hammonds, two Eastern Oregon ranchers who have been re-sentenced to federal prison, came up later.
A Bend resident asked, “I’m wondering if you feel as if that incident is an actual act of terrorist — if those two Oregon residents are terrorists?”
Merkley said the law did not label the men as terrorists, but that it’s important to know that “when you have a mandatory sentence, you take away the judgement out of the judicial system” in regards to the re-sentencing.
NewsChannel 21’s Lauren Martinez interviewed the senator before the meeting on his stance on the current militia takeover at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.
“I was very impressed by the (Harney County) sheriff who said simply, ‘You say you came here to support the community. The best way you can support our community is to go home.'”
For those who couldn’t make his town hall meetings, Merkley said he believes the dominant issues he’d heard about were concerns over adequate water supplies and how agriculture will be affected long-term.
