The Courage Of Your Convictions

Oregon priest who spent $3K to destroy AR-15 may have broken background check law:

A Portland area priest who coughed up $3,000 in a charitable raffle so that the AR-15 would not get a chance to run free and “be used to kill kids in schools” is now under investigation. As previously reported by Guns.com, Rev. Jeremy Lucas of Christ Church Episcopal Parish in Lake Oswego went all-in on the raffle madness in July and showed just how deep his own love for the community was by throwing $3,000 in the plate for a girls’ softball team, coming away with the lucky ticket to a new AR-15. Instead of putting the gun in his collection, the good Rev. Lucas told local media he intended to destroy the firearm, saying, “There are millions of guns, I know that. But this gun will never be used to kill kids in schools, kill people in a movie theater, kill people at an office party or at any other place of mass shootings.”

(quote continues, unattributed)

However, as reported by the Lake Oswego Review, Lucas may have broken the state’s new and confusing expanded background check law by asking a parishioner to store the gun while he arranged its transformation into a art object without first going through a mandated check.
Under the new law, all private gun transfers must take place through licensed firearms dealers who would perform background checks. There are some narrow exceptions for family transfers, brief loans at shooting ranges, law enforcement, and – in some cases – inherited firearms, but disregarding these, all others must go through a dealer.

(end unattirbuted quote)

I don't agree with Rev. Lucas, but I applaud his dedication to a goal which seems useful to him.  And I'm disappointed that Oregon's new firearms laws may make him only the latest victim.

The laws require that transfers from one person to another go through a licensed dealer; the reverend did not know nor understand these laws.  He thought that if in good faith he found someone to hold the rifle while he managed to find a way to dispose of it (for the benefit of others), he was doing A Good Thing.

Spending $3,000 on a raffle, for the sole purpose of 'getting it off the streets', may seem naive to some of us.  (Well, it seems so to me.)   I accept that his intent was noble.
However, according to my blog records:

Last updated August 27, 2015.

In 2015, Oregon enacted a law requiring a private or unlicensed firearm seller to conduct a background check on a private or unlicensed purchaser before transferring a firearm him or her.1 The transfer must be conducted through a federally licensed firearm dealer (FFL). The FFL must process the transaction as if the dealer were selling the firearm from his or her own inventory and comply with all federal and state laws regulating firearms dealers (See the Oregon Background Checks and Federal Law on Private Sales sections for further details).

IF the "Parishioner" was not a FFL, the good Reverend has clearly violated the law ... however inadvertently.

Will the State of Oregon prosecute him for this act of do-gooder-ism??

If justice is to be served ... no.

However, the State Must Be Served, and laws do not allow for 'ignorance as an excuse'.  

Which means that Reverend Lucas had no intent to violate the law; but rather, his intent was to avoid having an Evil Gun enter the community.

This is a classic example of state legislators creating a law for no valid reason other than to show that they are 'doing something' during their tenure.

What Might Be Done?

 Option 1:

If the state would determine that this incident falls outside their expectations, they may grant a .. I don't know, an exception?  The Good Father may accept the return of the firearm, and either (a) keep the gun until it may be transferred to a new owner in a lawful way, or (b) yield it to an FFL owner and allow that person to dispose of it in a lawful way; or

Option 2:

The state might realize that if they allow this holy man, in his ignorance having violated law but without ill intent, allow him to accept return of the firearm .. it would estblish a precedence which legislators may find embarassing;

Option 3:

The state may decide that their draconian law was legal and justified, and prosecute the Good Father (and/or the supposed FFL holder, who should have known better) to the full extent of the law;

Option 4:

The state may confiscate the firearms, impose a minimal cash penalty on both the Good Father and the recipient of the rifle (the FFL owner must, of course, lose his license because he should have known better) and sweep it all under the legislative carpet;

Option 5:

Just ... forget it all happened, dispose of the rifle, hope that nobody notices.

I'm sure there are other options.  The point is, this is a HUGE embarassement to the Oregon Legislature; and if they ignore it, only Bad Things may happen as a consequense.

THERE ARE OTHER CONSEQUENCES I'm sure, but it boggles the mind; any state legislature which enacts such a meaningless, useless, arbitrary law should be prepared for the consequences; I'm fairly certain that the IDIOTS who enacted this law will not willingly accept the consequenses of their inane legislation.

Frankly, I'm pleased to see this snag trip the Oregon Senate.  The yokels who think they can make laws for no good purpose other than to make it appear that they are "doing something" with their tenure ... do so richly deserve to be hoist on their own penard,...

I am breathlessly awaiting their next legislative action.  Forgive me, Father, but I devotely hope they imprison you for so obviously flouting The Law.

Somebody has got to pay.

And you know who deserves it.

The Friggin' IDIOTS who enacted the law without really thinking it through!

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