Oregon officials have banned state employees from carrying weapons in the workplace unless they're needed for their jobs. The move caused consternation Thursday among Republican leaders in the Legislature. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services said it imposed the ban, which became effective on Jan. 6, in hopes of "providing a safe and secure environment for employees and visitors." Banned are firearms, daggers, slingshots, and a host of other specified weapons. Oddly, even knobkerries were mentioned. Knobkerries are clubs used by indigenous people like the Zulus in southern Africa, and are probably unknown to most Oregonians.You realize that this would not make for a "safe and secure environment", right?
But if I was still working for The State, I would be a criminal. Because what I did legally last month, would be illegal today.
For almost 20 years I carried a concealed Knobkerry at work, in a State Office, every day. Nobody knew because it was ... well ... concealed.
And I certainly wasn't going to mention it.
It was legal, because of state laws in effect in Oregon at the time, and I had a "CKL" (Concealed Knobkerry License". But the place where I worked had an administrative rule disallowing the possession of knobkerries ... either open or concealed carry. They could have fired me for wanting to exercise my God Given Right to Keep and Bear Knobkerries (RKBK).
But I would not have been subject to legal action; I was not breaking any laws.
My thinking was that Knobkerry Free Zones (such as schools) were a prime target of 'mischief makers', and if 'mischief' were to occur at my work place, I wanted to have options.
I always felt much more "safe and secure" knowing that I could pull out my trusty knobkerry and pound the living crap out of anyone who decided to use an illegal knobkerry to attack my workplace.
Well, that has all changed now. Because we are defenseless ... by legal fiat.
I am disgusted ... California Politics are creeping into Oregon.
4 comments:
Did you use a Bianchi or Blackhawk Holster for your knobkerry?
What about the disabled that need a knobkerry, or cane, as an aid to ambulation, or in order to ambulate? What about them?
Mark;
It was "Appendix Carry".
I was very, VERY popular among my female co-workers. For a while.
Took a look at the specific DAS policy and compared it to the cited authoritative statutes and OAR. My totally-non-lawyerly conclusion: it's an almost-hilariously badly-written policy:
http://notonemoregunlaw.blogspot.com/2017/01/oregon-das-enacting-more-anti-gun-rules.html
It raises more questions than it answers. Also, according to DAS, carrying pepper spray into state offices is OK, but according to Oregon Revised Statutes (specifically, ORS 166.370), carrying pepper spray into state offices is still a Class C Felony with ZERO exceptions.
Which do you suppose overrides the other? ;)
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