Oregon's attorney general, along with prosecutors, police and domestic violence advocates, urged state lawmakers Wednesday to give police the power to remove guns from people who face restraining orders or have have been convicted of domestic violence-related misdemeanors.
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said that about 20 percent of the homicides in the state each year result from domestic violence and two-thirds involve the use of a firearm. Nationwide, she said, domestic violence assaults with guns are 12 times more likely to be fatal than assaults without firearms.
"Federal law recognizes this danger by prohibiting certain individuals from possessing guns,'' she said.
The 1994 federal law directs state courts to notify domestic violence offenders or those facing restraining orders of the federal prohibition on having or buying guns, but it doesn't require states or local police to establish procedures for collecting the firearms. In Oregon, only 14 federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives now have the power to seize these firearms, state officials said.
"As a result, many abusers never turn them over at all,'' Rosenblum testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It's not reasonable to rely on this small team of federal agents to shoulder this significant burden.''
Senate Bill 525 would change that. It would prohibit people from possessing guns or ammunition if they are subject to a restraining order that was upheld by a judge after a court hearing or if they have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Violations of the gun bans could be prosecuted as a Class A misdemeanor. The proposal would give state and local police the authority to search for and seize the firearms.
"I believe this bill represents a tremendous opportunity to save lives,'' Rosenblum testified.
The proposed legislation would go beyond the federal law, which applies only to spouses and intimate partners who have lived together or couples with children. The bill would protect a broader class of domestic violence victims, such as dating partners, former dating partners or any family or household members, proponents said.
"It is time that Oregon acts to provide local law enforcement with the tools they need to protect victims and hold batterers accountable,'' said Sybil Hebb, director of policy advocacy for the Oregon Law Center.
Currently, 19 states plus the District of Columbia prohibit gun possession by offenders convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors and 23 states and the District of Columbia prohibit possession by people facing restraining orders.
Kevin Starrett, executive director of the Oregon Firearms Federation, and Dan Reed, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, spoke out against the bill.
Starrett called the proposed legislation a "dangerous expansion to a failed system.'' He argued that restricting guns from people facing a restraining order but who may not have been convicted of a crime would strip them of their rights without due process.
"We believe taking someone's rights away when they haven't been convicted of a crime is wrong,'' he said.
Rosenblum, in response to questions from state Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, about seizing guns from people who have not been convicted of a crime but face a restraining order, said those people already have had a chance to challenge the order before a judge in court. They've had the opportunity to be heard and the court has made the determination to continue the restraining order, the attorney general said.
"I would venture to say that where there are active restraining orders -- those individuals might actually be more dangerous versus someone on probation for a misdemeanor conviction and receiving services,'' Rosenblum said.
Reed said the NRA opposes the bill because it "vastly expands'' who can be prohibited from carrying firearms.
Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, pointed out that the NRA has not blocked similar bills approved in Washington, Wisconsin, Louisiana and Minnesota.
"What is different about Oregon that would make you oppose it here?'' Burdick asked.
Reed said he doesn't lobby on behalf of the NRA in those states, but covers Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona, and was unable to explain the differences.
Among the prosecutors and police who testified was a physician, John Santa, who said he once cared for a woman who came to him several times with her husband present to be treated for minor injuries.
"My relationship ended with her when she left a note one day with my front office that she would never be back, that all of her injuries were related to domestic violence and her husband was there to make sure that she never said a word,'' said Santa, who testified in support of the bill. "I am here because I fell short then, and am trying to not fall short again.''
State Rep. Carla Piluso, D-Gresham, who formerly served as Gresham police chief, recounted her own experiences responding to a domestic violence murder-suicide case involving a felon who fatally shot his children's mother and then killed himself in front of their children with shotgun blasts.
"Was a restraining order out on the abuser? Yes. Did the abuser with a felony record have access to a firearm? Apparently so. Just because a restraining order is in place doesn't mean victims are guaranteed protection from their abuser,'' Piluso said. "SB 525 will save lives.''
--Maxine Bernstein
mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212; @maxoregonian