by Scott Eliasof

Another day, another mass shooting. The 10 people killed in Buffalo NY recently make this month’s racially motivated attack at a Buffalo, NY, supermarket (and the school shooting in Uvalde, TX) the deadliest mass shootingsof the year in the United States. More disturbingly, these mark the 199th mass shootings so far in 2022. Not even 20 weeks into the year, this averages out to about 10 such attacks a week.

Regardless of whether you are a hunter or gun enthusiast or would never touch a gun, it is possible to implement sensible gun control and there is something you can do NOW to help bring reasonable gun regulations to Oregon. The non-profit organization Lift Every Voice Oregon (https://www.lifteveryvoiceoregon.com/) is working to get an initiative on the ballot for November, 2022 called the Reduction of Gun Violence Act (Initiative Petition #17). This initiative would require that all firearm purchasers will need a permit to buy a firearm, including a background check, a firearm safety training class, and a live-fire training session. Believe it or not, a completed background check is not currently required. The manufacture, sale, transfer and possession of large capacity magazines, often used in mass shootings, would be banned. Those large capacity magazine guns already owned would be restricted to the owner’s sole use on personal property, at shooting ranges, competition and lawful recreational activities such as hunting. More details can be found at the website above.

Lift Every Voice Oregon (LEVO) has chosen not to use paid petition circulators, so they can use all the help they can get. They need  to get 140,000 signatures by July 8, so time is of the essence! You can sign the petition at home by going to https://www.lifteveryvoiceoregon.com/sign-from-home. If you are really passionate,  LEVO is always looking for more circulators. They will train you, send you a packet, and you can circulate with your friends and neighbors. Thank you for your help!

Scott Eliasof is a volunteer with LEVO, a scientist and an active Democrat living in SW Portland.