Repeals a manner of committing the crime of harassment. Requires that for a manner of committing the crime of aggravated harassment, the person must create a risk of spreading
communicable disease to the victim.

Change “crime” to “offense” and reduces them to Class A violation offenses for crimes of failure to appear in a violation proceeding, failure to appear in the second degree, criminal trespass in the second degree, criminal mischief in the third degree, failure to carry a license or to present a license to a police officer and, under specified circumstances, failure to appear on a criminal citation, theft in the third degree, failure to report as a sex offender, driving while suspended and failure to perform the duties of a driver when property is damaged. Punishes by a maximum fine of $2,000.

A Class A violation in Oregon is the equivalent to a traffic violation. This enables criminals to commit crimes without serious consequences, putting Oregonians at a greater risk. It appears the lawyers introducing this bill think these crimes aren’t worth their time, but don’t stop to realize that stopping lessor crimes with consequences has a significant impact on their case load of major crimes.

Democrats and the Governor made safety a priority, is this their idea of safety?

The bill also “Provides that each firearm possessed by a person committing the crime of felon in possession of a firearm constitutes a separately punishable offense.” For some time now the Oregon State Police have been enforcing a policy that is almost certainly illegal. They have been refusing to recognize court ordered right’s restorations for people whose convictions have been expunged, set aside, or otherwise rendered removed by the courts.

For years it has been understood that these various court orders restored a person’s rights to purchase and own firearms and they were free to lawfully claim they were not convicted felons. And for years, the State Police, obeying the obvious intentions of these right’s restoration processes, approved firearm’s purchases for those people.

Then one day, with no warning or explanation, the OSP Firearms Instant Check Unit invented a new interpretation of the law and claimed that people with these right’s restorations were, in fact, convicted felons and could not purchase firearms. This provision will codify their misused interpretation into law.

Email the Judiciary Committee:

Sen.FloydProzanski@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.KimThatcher@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.AnthonyBroadman@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.SaraGelserBlouin@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.FredGirod@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.JamesManningJr@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.MikeMcLane@oregonlegislature.gov