I consolidated all of my thoughts into one place. I will be adding these all to a Google Drive so it can be shared far and wide. This is a source that can be trusted because it was through the lens of a gun owner. Obviously these are my thoughts and the way that I viewed the proceedings last week. There were a few others that put their thoughts on paper. All of our information is more reliable than the information presented by the main stream media. Please note that I am not an attorney and the facts that I present are the way that I interpreted them. I will also include the links to the video livestream updates in the Google Drive. Thank you for supporting my independent reporting!
Day 1 recap!
As much as I have planning and working to help our attorneys. 4:00 AM came really early. I was up early so I could be to the courthouse early enough to meet all of those that took the time out of their schedules to be there. All the planning paid off and we had a small group that braved downtown Portland. We met at the rally point, shook hands and went into the Federal courthouse. Once inside we made our way through security and went up to the 13th floor. We were plenty early but the chief petitioners had beat us there already. That was really disappointing. We waited until the doors opened and then went to grab a seat. I was shocked at how many attorneys are involved, I would guess over 20 on both sides. The sheer amount of money being hemorrhaged currently is astounding and maddening all in the same breath.
Our plaintiffs presented a solid argument against measure 114. I really didn’t enjoy the states cross examination, knowing what I know about the process I felt they were really condescending. I know that this is part of the game, it’s just not something I enjoy. One of the highlights was listening to Ashley Hlebinsky talk about the history of firearms. I’ve had the honor of knowing her a few years now and I always nerd out when she talks about the historical significance of our firearms. Jessica Harris was really solid and started out our testimony really strong. Followed by Adam Johnson, that explained the impact to his company, by measure 114 and he helped paint a really clear picture. Next up was Sheriff Brad Lohery, he told a story of a rural county where it would be next to impossible for him to be able to Provide the necessary level of service to meet the state’s requirements. He has 6 deputies in a county that is 821 sq miles. It’s really hard to hear how bad policy, that is really counterproductive to the “public’s safety” continues to wreak havoc on our state. Next was Mark Hanish, with nearly 20 years in the firearms industry especially in an executive role really helped hammer important points home. We won some, we lost some but in reality this will go all the way to the Supreme Court. This is just the first chapter in this saga. Ultimately the higher courts will set us free from this tyranny. All in all a good day. Thank you all that joined us. I will keep you updated. We will do it all again.
This morning started like they typically do. Loading up and getting to the Federal courthouse early enough so I get a spot. I ran into Damian Bunting at security and we had a good talk. Today was going to be the final portion of the testimony of our plaintiffs and expert witnesses. There was some legal maneuvering in the beginning and then it was Damian’s turn to do his part. He touched on some really important parts that helped support previous testimony from Adam Johnson. I have never seen a cross examination end so abruptly when he literally deflated the tires on the opposing counsels proverbial truck. It was so funny.
Next up was a gentleman from the NSSF. He talked about really important industry data and the key takeaways were “in common use.” With so many magazines in circulation they are almost impossible to regulate and even more importantly they are supported under the Bruen decision. Next we had a really good skirmish over the permit to purchase regime. Some really good back and forth. I feet that our constitutional scholar scored some really important points on this topic and I feel the judge took notice. Another win.
We then switched sides of the ball. It was now the turn for the State of Oregon to make their case and to call their expert witnesses. It was typical for these types of cases. Each side always presents experts that can best articulate their positions. The difference was that ours are actual “experts” and theirs typically have a degree that normally starts with a political science degree. This is the new norm in the gun control movement. These people start with political science and then transfer there bias into gun policy. This is where they make their money. It’s dirty business but in reality, this is how the game is played.
Witness after witness rammed the same message over and over again. Black rifles bad, standard capacity mags, bad! They are quickly trying to frame the mass shooting problem as a real public safety problem all while completely ignoring the drug epidemic in our state that almost triples the number of people that are hurt with firearms.
I want to be clear ALL loss of life is unacceptable. We ALL want people to be safe. There are just ideas that will work and this ISN’T one of them. This is a loser in every meaning of the word. It was nauseating to witness. My back hurt from sitting and it was truly almost unbearable to watch. So much detachment from reality packaged in a way that it was sold as the gospel. Another really disappointing part to witness was that Senator Lisa Reynolds showed up to take notes and to gather data that she could later use against law abiding citizens. If you recall she has spent the past few weeks demonizing the Republicans for denying quorum, yet used that same denial of quorum to take a field trip to Federal court for her own selfish gain. This is truly shameful. Typically I wouldn’t address stuff like this but I feel in full transparency. The public has the right to know about the hypocrisy here. It’s only Tuesday but it feels like I’ve been there for a week.
I had a great lunch with Chris Costello and Brad N Donna Lohrey. My network has grown and I’m thankful for the opportunities I’m afforded here. After court I had a great dinner with Johan Doornenbal so as disheartened I am by some of the day. I will always focus on the good parts. The fight will continue tomorrow. I will keep you all updated. I appreciate your support. I’m glad to be able to be YOUR voice.
Recap day #3
The mornings have been hectic with getting information in and out to the general public. This is an undertaking that I don’t take lightly. It’s a tremendous honor being a trusted source” of information. If you look closely you can see the smoke coming out of my phone as I fire it up once again.
Check ins, research, and coordination really keep me on my toes. One thing I want to celebrate tonight is the fellowship that we have created. United, together to stand in the gaps to ensure our neighbors have a seat at the table. Today was not fun but, we had some really important wins in this saga.
What we have to do is prepare ourselves for the inevitable. NoThis morning we finished the testimony on Dr Brian DeLay. He is a political science major/gun policy “expert” from UC Berkeley. What many don’t realize is how much $$$ is related in the industry of expert witnesses in the gun control debate. Many of these experts create a niche for themselves by being hired “guns” to sell their “knowledge” as a way to paint whatever story is convenient to the purchaser. He is no different. While on paper, they celebrate his tenure and accolades but when it comes to the fine details of the actual firearms that they are supposed to be experts on. They miss critical details. From the crowd this is a huge hole in the conversation. In the end our side is able to exploit. Points scored on my paper, but the only position that matters is the one of the judge.
Next up was Dr Kevin Sweeney, he was another historian from Yale and Amherst college. His area of expertise was the colonial era near the founding of our country. He studied the “Arms of the Militia.” What I found interesting is that the history that I have learned from my travels and actually visiting Lexington at Concord. Is that the history that I learned was countered by Dr. while he may have been an expert on the period of the firearms in his wheelhouse, once again the book smarts didn’t equate to the fine details of other firearms just outside of his areas of study. In fact when asked if the Winchester 1863 repeater had a rifle had a rifled barrel? His response was that he didn’t know. BOOM another point on my paper. He was also super critical of the Heller decision because he feels that the Supreme Court misinterpreted what the true definition of the “Militia” was. From his perspective the militia was a paid standing army. What he fails to admit that the true militia is US. All this forest and you can’t see it for the trees.
Next up was Lucy Allen, she works for NERA. While she presents herself as a data expert. I was able to do rough calculations in my head that showed how her information paints the picture that defense wants the judge to see. She presented sample groups and sold it as accurate depiction of the entire story. All while the State of Oregon was being billed at $1150 an hour for the services that she rendered. This will all come out in the next FOIA request that I hope to have next week. Our side worked hard to impeach her and by far it was the worst performance of an expert witness today. Another point on the paper.
As soon as she was done I headed south. I had a class in Albany which was absolutely spectacular. Thank you Andy Munson, Chris Costello, and John McDonnell for holding down the fort so I could get a respite. 4:00 AM is going to come soon as I repack, swap gear and head north again tomorrow.
The closing arguments are on Friday at 9:00AM. If you can make it. It would really be important for you to be there to support our team. Good night, thank you all for your support and believing in my message. It’s an honor providing you all the truth.
Recap Day #4!
I tell you what, 4:30 came way to early once again. I only had a few hours of sleep, but I had to repack so I could head north early this AM. We made it with plenty of time. As tired as I was I settled into my seat for the day. The small platoon of attorneys were all there and were ready for today’s arguments. What is real important to realize it this isn’t about a victory. This is about establishing a solid foundation on the record for measure 114 as it proceeds to the 9th circuit on an appeal. This is something really important for you to understand at home.
The State called their first witness this morning. He was Dr. Robert Spitzer, once again he was a political science major maskd as a gun policy expert. What is important to note that all of these expert witnesses share that common bond. It really doesn’t always equate to good testimony because there is always a slant. His testimony was no different. They spent most of their time talking about historical laws in relation to restrictions. I learned more about the Bowie knife than I ever knew or wanted to know. How this was all related to measure 114 is beyond me. The Doc got really frazzled during the cross examination and ended up trying to search the internet all while being under oath. This was a big misstep, which really effected his credibility. The judge was not pleased. +1 good guys!
Next up was Dr. Dave MacDowal. He had a Sociology degree with a focus on statistical data. This one really peaked my interests because I love data! It is a way for you to tell the story if interpreted correctly. It truly is an art form. Here he was brought in to poke holes in a study that could have been used to better our position. He did well discrediting the study and quickly started talking about defensive gun uses. My ears perked up because this stuff is really my jam. This is where things took a dramatic turn. Some of the data he cited made no sense. Typically when I look at data I refer to the FBI UCR. Many others use this as well. It’s often reported that guns are used for lawful self defense between up to 250,000 to possibly as many as 3 million times annually very often without a shot being fired. The Doc reported from his research it was only 65k on the low end and up to 147k on the high end. I call total BS on this. Then during the cross, he was asked what was the number of defensive gun uses are used by those that had a magazine with more than 10 rounds in them? His response was that wasn’t part of the data that we studied.
I was absolutely floored, we are in trial on the constitutionality of a magazine capacity ban and the very data that would support YOUR study. You didn’t study? Are you for real? What planet are we on here? +2 good guys!
Next up was Dr. Roger Pauly, he is a history professor that was featured on the TV show American Guns. It started out like they typically did but quickly went south on him. When asked about the historical handguns from the early 20th century, he spoke about the Colt 911. The 911 is a new one lol. I looked at Larry and we were like did that really just happen. He then went on to talk about the history of the M16 and AR 15. He stated the muzzle of velocity of both in 556 as being 3300 fps. I don’t know about you but I could never get that sort of velocity out of any of my rifles and I don’t know how that would even be possible. +3 good guys.
Last up was Jenna Longnecker, this one was really hard to listen to. She unfortunately lost her mother back in 2012 in the Clackamas town shooting. What this testimony has to do with the historic traditions related to our 2A, I do not know. This story is very personal to me because it was my friend that was practicing his “act of civil disobedience” by carrying a Glock 22, appendix carry into a gun free zone. It was the shooter looking down the barrel of my friends gun that caused him to go down a hallway and settle out of court, if you know what I mean. While I completely empathize with her loss, I feel that this was just more gameplay by the defense. Unfortunately this scored major points with the judge, I could tell by her demeanor.
Tomorrow is the final day. The closing arguments will begin at 9:00 AM. Please come join us. We need a good show of support. The day ended with a little present from the City of Portland. Thank you Larry Turner for keeping me company today. I will keep you updated tomorrow. Thank you for your support.
Recap Day #5, Final Update!
One of the hardest parts of this past week was the fact that I was disarmed during the day while in court. It is not something that I enjoy because of the fact I am always armed, where legally able to do so. Yesterday I had an epiphany while in court that my EDC kit has changed what normally would involve a few extra 17 round magazines has been replaced by the Pen! In this situation the pen is definitely mightier than the sword. Until it runs out of ink 1 hour before court lets out. That’s when the panic sets in. So being a gun guy, 1 is none and 2 is one! With so many people depending on this vital information. My pen is arguably more valuable to the State of Oregon, than my 17 round mag. So here we go!
This morning started with a great group of Oregon gun owners rallying for the final day of the federal trial of Measure 114. Today were the closing arguments and this is the part I really looked forward to the most along with all of those that were in attendance. Great crowd with a great vibe, all ready to cheer on our team. Many showed up to take notes and it was really cool to watch. As someone that spent so much time there I was proud of those that made the time to be a part of history. I say history because in reality this will end up in the Supreme Court.
Our attorney, Matt Rowen started his closing argument. He originally asked for 2 hours and I anticipated it going that long. His area of expertise is the constitution and he did a masterful job of painting this picture. This picture has a few different legs. One is the “keep” and the other is the “bear.” The way the language reads in Measure 114, it changes the definition of a “shall issue” permitting regime under the Bruen decision. To an objective “may issue” regime because it gives the permitting agent the discretion to deny an applicants permit due to the personal opinion of the agent. This is a violation of their fundamental rights. He brought up some really great points about how the language of the bill doesn’t meet the requirements of the FBI to perform the background check and without a completed background check there will be no permits issued.
I’ve been saying this the whole time, that this is a really poorly written bill and it needed to go to the legislature first to be fixed. This would have saved us millions. Instead a partisan AG and the former disgraced SOS rammed this through because of the Oregon constitution. The prudent thing to have done would to have let the OSP and legislature use our own LC to make this almost workable before heading this into court. It is a waste of resources and the only ones that win are the attorneys, no lives saved. At the end of his arguments, on break we were on cloud 9.
Next up was the interveners, this is the counsel for LEVO. They are the chief petitioners for the and are most likely funded by Bloomberg or Everytown. They are shills and are using outside donations to make everyone vulnerable. They started with the emotional argument because the facts are not one their side. They also tried to discredit our plaintiffs regarding their testimony but didn’t mention the fact that the questions that they were using against us, weren’t asked by them during the cross examination.
At the end I didn’t feel too good because of the demeanor and questions of the judge.
Next up was the State’s team. What has always amazed me about this process is how these supposed experts have little working knowledge of the subject matter that they are arguing about. The highlight here is how they considered our detachable magazines, “bearable arms.” The proof that they don’t understand the basic functions of our magazines in relation to the gun is either ignorance or denial. It’s really that simple. The judge had some questions about armor piercing bullets which gave me great pause because once again it showed no actual experience with the topic she was asking about. I didn’t feel good about this part.
Lastly, Rowen got the opportunity to do his rebuttal. He started off really strong and systematically went count by count countering their closing arguments. It was incredible to watch. I found myself cheering for him as I took notes. Maybe I was excited for nothing, I am not an attorney. I only play one here on Facebook.
One thing that stuck with me is how he said that “that the government can’t create hoops to jump through and then there be no hoops.” He was referring to the permitting scheme. All in all I felt really good about his performance, but it’s not up to me. It’s up to a judge and from my seat. I feel that we are in trouble and it may take a few weeks to find out.
It was a long week. What made it easier was that people that came and kept me company. All of the support that I have received and I’m thankful that I help get my fellow Oregon gun owners off of the sidelines and into the fight. I feel that I really have found my stride. I have made an impact on MY rights. YOUR rights are just the byproduct. Thank you to all that are stepping forward to help fill the breach. Together we will hold the line so the next generations will have the opportunity to experience freedom. Thank you!