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Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- House Bill 4054 is scheduled to be heard in the state House Health Care Committee on Monday, February 13.

This hearing will be held at 1:00 p.m. in Hearing Room E of the Oregon Capitol.  Sponsored by state Representative Jim Thompson (R-23), HB 4054 would prohibit the Public Employees’ Benefit Board from authorizing or requiring the collection of information or maintenance of records about firearms from eligible employees or family members applying for health benefits.

HB 4054 was introduced after state Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-30) secured commitments from both Kaiser Permanente and the Public Employee’s Benefit Board to purge gun ownership data that had been collected after implementing a new employee initiative called the “Health Engagement Model.”  After Senator Ferrioli’s inquiries, both plans dropped the questions related to firearms.

Please call and e-mail members of the state House Health Care Committee TODAY and urge them to support HB 4054.  Their contact information can be found below.

House Health Care Committee:

• Representative Mitch Greenlick (D-33), Co-Chairman
  503-986-1433
  rep.mitchgreenlick@state.or.us
• Representative Jim Thompson (R-23), Co-Chairman
  503-986-1423
  rep.jimthompson@state.or.us
• Representative Val Hoyle (D-14), Co-Vice Chairman
  503-986-1414
  rep.valhoyle@state.or.us
• Representative Bill Kennemer (R-39), Co-Vice Chairman
  503-986-1439
  rep.billkennemer@state.or.us
• Representative Jason Conger (R-54)
  503-986-1454
  rep.jasonconger@state.or.us
• Representative Margaret Doherty (D-35)
  503-986-1435
  rep.margaretdoherty@state.or.us
• Representative Alissa Keny-Guyer (D-46)
  503-986-1446
  rep.alissakenyguyer@state.or.us
• Representative Julie Parrish (R-37)
  503-986-1437
  rep.julieparrish@state.or.us

About:
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org

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Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The Supreme Court yesterday unanimously sided with Gun Owners of America in finding that the placement of a Global Positioning Device on an automobile constitutes a “search” for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.

The majority opinion in U.S. v. Jones was written by Justice Antonin Scalia and follows GOA’s reasoning to throw out the “reasonable expectation of privacy” test which has been thought to be the dominant Fourth Amendment standard in recent years.

The Obama Administration argued that because the police could theoretically follow Antoine Jones’ car, he had no “reasonable expectation of privacy,” and thus, placing a GPS device on his car was justified. GOA argued, however, that this constituted an “unreasonable search and seizure” which violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

This decision will have dramatic ramifications for gun owners. Indeed, the Court looked to the Founders’ intentions with respect to the Fourth Amendment, which, until the latter part of the 20th Century, was understood to restrict the ability of police to “trespass” upon the persons or property of Americans.

“This is no less than a fundamental transformation of American jurisprudence concerning searches and seizures,” according to GOA’s Executive Director Larry Pratt. “And it is a transformation which throws out fake modern jurisprudence and restores the Founders’ intent.”

The “reasonable expectation of privacy” test flowed from a Justice Harlan concurring opinion in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967). Gun Owners of America had argued that the Supreme Court should jettison that decision by an activist court, and a majority of the justices agreed.

“The ‘expectation of privacy’ test for searches and seizures arose without support in the text or historical context of the Fourth Amendment, and has proven wholly inadequate to protect the American people from their government,” argued GOA.

Four members of the court – led by Samuel Alito, and joined by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan – argued for the continuation of the “reasonable expectation of privacy test,” but concluded that planting a GPS device on a car for 28 days constituted a Fourth Amendment “search” under that standard as well.

The Obama administration, which had argued that planting a GPS device on a car was not a “search” under the Harlan standard, was unanimously repudiated by the High Court. And the case is being cited by the mainstream media as a defeat for Obama and his Justice Department, which is led by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Said Pratt: “This is yet another failure by Eric Holder, the most corrupt and incompetent Attorney General in the history of the Republic.”

Gun Owners would like to thank its activists for their support. Your contributions helps GOA to assist in future cases like this at the Supreme Court.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

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