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A couple of hundredpeople attended a far-right Second Amendment rally at Riverfront Park on Saturday where speakers called on them to join together against cancel culture, Oregon Democrats,the coronavirus vaccine, gun controland pandemic-related lockdowns.

They also warned of a coming civil war, endorsed 2020 electionconspiracy theories and encouraged attendees to run for local elected office, especially school boards.

Jo Rae Perkins, a frequent Republican candidate for elected office in Oregon, called the coronavirus vaccines a "bioweapon" and said the state is "going after your children."

"Let's take back Oregon, let's take back this country," she said.

A man holds a flag at a May Day Second Amendment rally at Riverfront Park in Salem, Oregon on Saturday, May 1, 2021.(Photo: BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL)

Other speakers includedProud Boys member Daniel Tooze, conservative radio host Rob Taylor, 2022 Republican candidate for governorPaul Romero and pastor Lew Wootan of The River Church in Salem.

The Proud Boys, Tick Licker Firearms,Fifty1Fifty Tactical and the Stolen Voices Foundation were among the event's sponsors, with Proud Boys members also providing "security."

The rally was supposed to be headlined by Republican Rep. Mike Nearman, but he did not speak.Nearmanwas chargedFriday with official misconduct in the first degree and criminal trespass in the second degree stemming from a riot at the Oregon Capitol building on Dec. 21.

Event organizer Magen Marie Stevens speaks at a May Day Second Amendment rally at Riverfront Park in Salem, Oregon on Saturday, May 1, 2021. (Photo: BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL)

The riot began after Nearman exited a side door of the Capitol which was closed due to the pandemic allowing people to charge inside.

There is one major gun bill under consideration at the Oregon Legislature this session.

That bill, Senate Bill 554, would require firearms to be secured withtrigger or cable lock, in a locked container or in a gun room when not being carried, except in certain circumstances. It sets penalties for failure to securefirearms.

The bill alsobans carrying firearms in the Capitol, at Portland InternationalAirport or on school grounds if the school's governing body sets a policy banning guns.

Flags wave at a May Day Second Amendment rally at Riverfront Park in Salem, Oregon on Saturday, May 1, 2021. (Photo: BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL)

"How do you feel that your concealed handgun license will essentially be nullified?" Taylor asked the crowd."It's getting to the point where you really can't take it anywhere. Just try taking your daughter or your son to school, you could end up with a criminal record, just for taking your child to school and practicing your Second Amendment rights."

The bill passed the House on Thursday by a vote of 34-24 after hours of debate. It must receive a concurrence vote in the Senate before moving to the governor's desk for her signature.

Former Republican Senate candidate Jo Rae Perkins speaks at a May Day Second Amendment rally at Riverfront Park in Salem, Oregon on Saturday, May 1, 2021.(Photo: BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL)

The bill nearly triggered a Republican walkout when a previous version came up for a vote in March.

Several Senate Republicans face recall attempts due to their refusal to walk out. Signatures for the recall efforts were being gathered at the rally.

Reporter Connor Radnovich covers the Oregon Legislature and state government. Contact him at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6864, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich.

Support local journalism by subscribing to the Statesman Journal.

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Far-right groups rally in Salem in support of 2nd Amendment, against pandemic restrictions - Statesman Journal

HOMER GUNMAN: A man openly carrying two handguns on his belt and a rifle across his chest was contacted by Calhoun County Sheriff Department deputies in Homer on Monday. Deputies were called at 2:30 p.m. said the man from Litchfield was wearing camouflage clothes and walking downtown and in residential neighborhoods. The man was about four blocks from Homer Community Schools, which waswas placed on lock down as a precaution. When deputies arrived the man began recording them and said he was conducting a Second Amendment Audit about the law enforcement response. He said the deputies passed and was apologetic when deputies explained that the schools were concerned because it was near their release time. The man gave his weapons to deputies and the schoollifted the lock down and then the guns were returned, officials said. He later posted the encounter on You Tube.

DOMESTIC ASSAULT: Battle Creek police have reported the following cases:

A warrant is being sought for a man, 35, after his girlfriend, 40, said she was assaulted in the 500 block of North Avenue at 1 p.m. Sunday.

A warrant is being sought for a man, 27, after his former girlfriend, 26, said she was assaulted in the 5700 block of Dahlia Drive at 2:41 p.m. Sunday.

A warrant for stalkingis being sought for a man, 53, after police said he repeatedly attempted to contact a woman, 41. Police were called at 4:15 p.m. Sunday.

ASSAULTS: Battle Creek police have reported the following cases:

A warrant is being sought for a man, 24, after a male friend, 23, said he was assaulted on Columbia Avenue at 11:04 p.m. Sunday. Police said the suspect had been drinking.

A girl, 10, was slapped and thrown to the ground by two other children at a playground near Truth Drive and Jordan Street. Officers were called at 9:10 p.m. Friday after the girl went home and reported the incident to her father. Another girl slapped the victim, believing she was called a name by the victim. Then a young boy stopped the victim from walking home by picking her up and throwing her to the ground. The girl's father said the same children have harassed his daughter before.

A man, 40, told officers he was assaulted by a man and woman outside his home in the first block of Arlington Drive in Bedford Township at 3:09 p.m. Saturday. The man said the couple were angry because the victim had given another man a ride to a party and that man caused some problems. The victim said the man and woman kicked and punched him and then ran off. The victim was not able to identify the couple and police were unable to find them.

HOME INVASION: A man, 26, was arrested after he kicked a door and entered a residence in the 500 block of West Jackson Street at 3:13 a.m. Monday. Police said the man was intoxicated and believed he was entering the home of a friend.

Call Silent Observer at 269-964-3888 or text CRIMES (274637) SOTIP or see http://www.crimereports.com with information about crimes.

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Police & Fire: Man with guns in Homer told deputies he was testing Second Amendment rights - Battle Creek Enquirer

A few more Maine towns this month have declared themselves to be Second Amendment sanctuaries, following a trend in which pro-gun advocates are hoping to fend off possible gun control measures from Congress and the state Legislature.

In the past month, boards of selectmen in Harrington and Princeton have signed similarly worded resolutions expressing support for their constitutional rights to bear firearms and opposition to any laws that they say would infringe upon those rights. On March 16, Columbia Falls residents passed a resolution by voice vote at their annual town meeting to declare their town a Second Amendment sanctuary.

An official with the Maine Gun Safety Coalition said Tuesday that the resolutions are a continuation of an effort that began a few years ago in which state, county or municipal governments publicly declare their support for the Second Amendment. The resolutions have no legal standing, he said, and often are coupled with a declared opposition to any additional gun control measures that resolution proponents say would be unconstitutional.

Our general stance is that these are symbolic measures that have no force of effect, Geoff Bickford, executive director of the coalition, said Tuesday. Theyre just pieces of paper as far as were concerned.

Bickford said that there is proposed legislation in the Legislature and in Congress to enact gun control measures. Among them is a bill in Augusta that would mirror a federal ban on bump stocks, which increase the firing rate of semi-automatic weapons, while another in Washington would renew an expired ban on so-called assault rifles.

But Bickford said the bump stock ban in Maine already is in effect, courtesy of federal law, and that the likelihood of any additional gun control measures being passed by Congress are low, given the 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate and the need to get 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in that chamber.

There is no compelling reason to adopt these resolutions, Bickford said, adding the courts decide what is constitutional, not boards of selectmen or county commissioners.

Even so, many Maine towns are considering similar resolutions. Paris, Fort Fairfield, Van Buren and Caribou all have voted to declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, while similar resolutions have failed to pass in Ellsworth and Bridgton.

Steven Cilley, a selectman in Princeton, acknowledged that the March 3 resolution in that Washington County town was symbolic, but said that as more Maine cities and towns adopt similar resolutions, it will send a message to policymakers in Augusta and Washington.

It made us feel a little bit better with everything else going on in this country, Cilley said, adding that Vietnam veterans approached him about bringing the resolution to the Princeton board of selectmen.

A Navy veteran, Cilley said he is concerned that President Joe Biden will push through more gun control measures such as universal background checks for gun buyers and bans on high-capacity magazines, which allow gun users to fire off more rounds before they have to stop to reload. Biden has said enacting the measures will save American lives by helping to prevent mass shootings like those that happened earlier this month in Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado.

But Cilley said that people arent buying into Bidens argument.

A lot of states and towns are doing this, Cilley said of passing resolutions. There are more deaths with automobiles than with AR-15s.

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Down East towns declare themselves 2nd Amendment sanctuaries - Bangor Daily News

As a former chair of the State Higher Board of Education, I am greatly concerned over pending legislation. The political overreach of the legislature in the second amendment to SB 2030passed by the ND Senate now being considered in the Houseis inappropriate and the harbinger of nightmares to come for higher education in the state of North Dakota. The amendment purports to affect only one grant; in reality, it threatens academic freedom for every single professor and graduate program in our public colleges and universities. Successful research cannot happen if government interference is but one legislators whim away.

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The amendment seeks to punish North Dakota State University for a federal research grant that has been in place for many years because it is highly successful and meaningful for North Dakota adolescents, including New American, Native American, and at-risk teenagers. Included are youth in foster care, youth with HIV/AIDS, victims of human trafficking, and pregnant and/or parenting youth who are under the age 21. The subject matter of the grant is sex education and preventing teen pregnancy. Parental permission is required and parental involvement is sought. The well-received curriculum actually is not in question. It's the federally approved curriculum provider for the grant that the legislature objects to.

If state funding for our institutions of higher education can be withdrawn because legislators dont approve of one research grant (or in this case, one facet of one research grant) the institutions of higher education as we North Dakotans know them--and take such pride in them--will be no more. The second amendment to SB 2030 must be scrapped.

Kristen Bakke Diederich served on North Dakota's State Board of Higher Education from 2010 to 2015 and served as board chair from 2013 to 2015.

This letter does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.

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Letter: The second amendment to SB 2030 must be scrapped | INFORUM - INFORUM

Have you had enough yet? Three shootings in the Fargo/Moorhead area in a week. Two 6 year olds shot. Two national mass shootings in a week. A mass shooting in Minnesota last month. School children need to practice active shooter drills. Have you had enough yet?

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New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, and Canada have had mass shootings. However, they enacted strict gun control in weeks and months. What endures the U.S. to continue to allow gun violence?

In 2016 the National Rifle Association spent $100 million in paying lobbyists and buying political attack ads. In 2020 it was $50 million. If you pay membership fees to the NRA, do you realize you are paying to keep the violence?

No civilian should own a military style rifle. Automatic and semi-automatic rifles are not made for target practice, they are made to kill many people in a short amount of time. If you think it is OK for you to own one because you don't intend to kill anyone, others may have malicious intent. Giving them up is for the good of society as a whole.

This isn't about your Second Amendment rights. When the Constitution was written, guns only fired once before needing reloading. This isn't about hunting. You can hunt with a hunting rifle. This isn't about your entertainment. Find another hobby so others can live.

There are more guns in the U.S. than people. The argument that the more guns you have, the safer you'll be is statically incorrect. Imply limits on the number of pistols owned. Why does anyone need so many?

Say no to businesses that advertise weapons. Say no to NRA memberships. Willingly surrender your AR rifles. Write your senators and legislators. Support gun reform. It is time to say "Enough."

Beth Ann Volk, Moorhead, is a former member of The Forum's Readers Board.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.

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Letter: This isn't about hunting, entertainment or your Second Amendment rights | INFORUM - INFORUM