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BEND, Ore. (AP) — The Deschutes County sheriff's office says a rural homeowner fired a shot Thursday night at an intruder who broke a window.

South of the Columbia River, Oregon lawmakers gathered in Salem passed four gun control measures out of the State Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning – one day after the U.S. Senate derailed similar legislation on Capitol Hill – and a source tells Examiner that a vote could come up pretty soon. The four bills were passed out of committee on straight 3-2 party line votes, according to the Portland Oregonian and Salem Statesman Journal, with Democrats supporting the measures and Republicans opposed. As this column noted earlier, the push for gun control is not yet in the coffin. Senate Bill...

A 22-year-old Oregon City woman pulled out her gun to defend herself against a stranger who was assaulting her. She'd just parked her car when she says a man grabbed her from behind by the pony tail and dragged her. She pulled out a handgun, pointed it at him and he got scared. The woman has a concealed carry permit. The man took off on foot near the intersection of 8th and John Adams Street after 10:00 on Sunday night. He's said to be white, in his 20's, about 5'8" with a slender build and medium length hair down to...

Democrat Ginny Burdick -- the most impassioned gun-control advocate in the Oregon Senate -- recently dealt with one of those home visits. Some klutz spent several hours filming Burdick outside her home, and Jeff Reynolds, chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party, gleefully posted the video online. ---------------------------cut------------------- Burdick, meanwhile, has announced that four gun-control bills -- including background checks on all gun transactions except those between immediate family members -- will be heard Thursday in Senate Judiciary. "It's clear that intimidation works," Burdick said. "This is the extremist, highly motivated fringe. The strategy is to make life so miserable...

There are two errors to correct in the news that Bishop Alexander K. Sample is headed to Portland, Oregon. The first is that it means nothing. The second is that it means everything. As is often the case, the reality will be something in between. At one level, it is a momentous choice because the Bishop is one of the great voices and minds in our time in favor of the “reform the reform� plus the push for sacred music, about which he is a genuine expert. Portland is the home of the Oregon Catholic Press, which provides music...

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 Bishop Sample shares his Vision and Program for the New Evangelisation At the final session of the Convocation of Priests serving in the Diocese of Marquette, Bishop Alexander Sample spoke about his vision or program for the New Evangelisation. He summed it up by saying: It's the Gospel of Jesus Christ! This is very much in line with Pope John Paul II's view: that there is no need for any new program. However, Bishop Sample highlighted two central themes that are, as it were, coming over the horizon: the renewal of the Sacred Liturgy the work...

Bishop Alexander K. Sample of Marquette. File: Photo/CNA. Portland, Ore., Jan 29, 2013 / 10:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Alexander K. Sample of Marquette, Mich., to shepherd the archbishop of Portland, Ore. In a Jan. 29 statement, Archbishop-designate Sample noted his “excitement and joy at taking up this new challenge that God has placed before me.� “I have always tried to be obedient to the will of God and to accept whatever the Church asks of me to be God’s will,� he said Tuesday. “It is in this spirit that I have said 'yes'...

Maria Medina-Soto inhaled deeply, wiped away a falling tear and began telling her story as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. She explained the difficulty of being away from her siblings for the last 16 years, her fear of driving due to the possibility for deportation and her hope for a better future. Medina-Soto, 37, of Dayton, was one of four people who spoke Tuesday morning at the Keeping Families Together campaign kickoff sponsored by Causa, the heavily Latino immigrant rights group based in Salem. The campaign focuses on immigration reform and involves individuals, community organizations and elected officials. During the...

An Oregon lawmaker contends the massacre that left more than two dozen people dead at a Connecticut elementary school is another "heartbreaking failure" of school personnel to ensure protection, and is a reminder that teachers should be allowed to carry guns in the classroom.

PORTLAND, Ore ... Nick Meli is emotionally drained. The 22-year-old was at Clackamas Town Center with a friend and her baby when a masked man opened fire. "I heard three shots and turned and looked at Casey and said, 'are you serious?'" The friend and baby hit the floor. Meli, who has a concealed carry permit, positioned himself behind a pillar. "He was working on his rifle," said Meli. "He kept pulling the charging handle and hitting the side." The break in gunfire allowed Meli to pull out his own gun, but he never took his eyes off the shooter....

Court documents show Tami Roberts misappropriated $18,000 that Jacob Roberts received in an inheritance from his grandmother when he was a young teen. She said that was not the reason for the estrangement.

CLACKAMAS, OR (KPTV) - A 22-year-old man from southeast Portland parked his car outside Macy's, rushed into the Clackamas Town Center mall food court and opened fire, killing two people Tuesday, investigators said. Jacob Roberts' AR-15 rifle then jammed, but he was able to get the gun working again. He shot and killed himself, sheriff's deputies said. Steve Forsyth, of West Linn, and Cindy Yuille, of northeast Portland, were killed by Roberts, authorities said. A third shooting victim, Kristina Shevchenko, survived and is being treated at Oregon Health & Science University hospital. Deputies said Roberts stole the rifle used...

In the immediate aftermath of yesterday's Clackamas Town Center incident, where a criminal with a stolen gun opened fire on holiday shoppers in a reported “No Guns” zone, State Senator Ginny Burdick has introduced a bill to keep law-abiding Oregon gun owners from possessing standard capacity ammunition magazines for semi-automatic firearms, Oregon Firearms Federation reported today in a membership alert. “As we predicted, the anti-gun bills are starting to show up in Salem,” OFF Executive Director Kevin Starrett informed Beaver State gun owners. “The first one by (of course) Ginny Burdick bans the 'transfer' of magazines that can hold over...

PORTLAND, Oregon — Police in Portland say a maximum $1,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest in the case of Italian marble religious statues damaged at a Catholic shrine and botanical garden.Sgt. Pete Simpson says three statues were damaged this week, with the heads removed.Police recovered one of the statue heads Friday after a passer-by called to say it was perched on a post at the west end of the 62-acre site popularly known as The Grotto. That head belonged to a statue of the Virgin Mary.Still missing are heads belonging to statues of St. Joseph...

Hermiston — A suspect allegedly trying to hold up a Hermiston convenience store ran away before getting any cash when the owner fired a handgun at him, police said. Hermiston police are now offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. The attempted robbery occurred at 10:15 a.m. Saturday at Tienda la Comadre.

(CN) - A sharply divided Oregon appeals court upheld Portland's ban on carrying loaded firearms in public, affirming a lower court's conviction of city resident on a pair of concealed weapons charges. Jonathan Christian was charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, in violation of Oregon law, and of carrying a loaded firearm in a public place, in violation of a Portland ordinance. The district court convicted him on both counts, despite Christian's demurrer that the laws violated the Second Amendment. On appeal, the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, and re-affirmed it en banc,...

PORTLAND – A Portland man was afraid he’d lost an irreplaceable family heirloom, until he found out Wednesday police had tracked down his father's stolen gun collection. Police told Vietnam veteran Randal Snider that they were able to arrest the suspect and recover the guns, thanks to a tip they received. ----------------------cut------------------------- The two men knew each other because McGrew's father had done some handyman work for Snider.

PORTLAND, Ore. – A man fired a shotgun round through the floor of his Northeast Portland home early Tuesday morning when he said he heard an intruder inside the house. Police said there was no evidence to suggest the intruder was hurt by the blast. The homeowner, Read Williamson, told police he heard someone speed away in a car after he fired the gun. His home is located in the 2100 block of NE 37th Avenue. Williamson, talking to reporters on Tuesday while holding an infant, said he was asleep upstairs at 3:17 a.m. when his golden retriever “started whining,...

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland police shut down the Burnside Bridge and detained 13 bearded men who said they were headed to a photo shoot to raise money for breast cancer research Wednesday evening. According to spokesman Robert King, police received a report that a man on the bridge had an assault rifle. Officers shut down the bridge just after 7:30 p.m. while they investigated. Police found 13 bearded men, many of whom wore military style uniforms. One of the men had an assault rifle, King said. They were taken to the Central Precinct. It's unclear if the assault rifle was...

A Medford man was shot and killed while trying to force his way into a home in White City. Sherriff spokesperson Andrea Carlson said that the victim had pounded on several doors in the Andrea Drive neighborhood just after 1 p. m. on August 20. According to the report, he appeared to be panic-stricken, telling people that he was being chased. When he got to the home on 7898 Andrea Drive, the homeowner refused him admittance and fired at least one shot from what was reportedly a .357 magnum, killing the man. Crosby had previously been diagnosed with a mental...

A man who tried to force his way into a home at 7898 Andrea Drive in White City this afternoon was shot dead by the home's resident, according to Jackson County sheriff's deputies. Sheriff's spokeswoman Andrea Carlson said the victim had been knocking on several doors in the neighborhood and was trying to force his way into the yellow and white home when he was shot at about 1:25 p.m. Investigators are still trying to determine where the man was wounded and by how many bullets, but they came from a large-caliber revolver, she said. Carlson said investigators would not...

David West behaved as a cattle buyer might when a prized bull entered the auction ring. "One-hundred fifty for the revolver sir!" West shouted. "It's not too late!" Alas, it was too late because the man with the pearl-handled revolver proceeded to turn over the firearm Saturday afternoon in exchange for a $75 Fred Meyer gift card. He chose that route rather than sell the gun for more money to West or any of a half-dozen men standing on a sidewalk between North Broadway Street and a parking lot north of Memorial Coliseum. They were among a group of gun...

August 17, 2012, 2:05 pm Ceasefire Oregon is holding a gun turn in event tomorrow, the 18th. It's from 10 to 2 at Memorial Coliseum. The goal of the event is get unwanted, unused, or broken guns off the streets. Ceasefire has collected more than 7,500 guns since 1994. For each gun turned in, a person will get a $75 Fred Meyer gift certificate. There is a limit of three certificates but there are no questions asked. What do you think about gun turn in events? Some say they get guns off the streets but others say they're a waste...

Jerry Conrady and his wife have been fighting to be able to continue to safely shoot on their own rural property. This is their story in their own words, why it should matter to you, and how you can help. Lincoln County is attacking Oregon residents’ rights to shoot on private property. If Lincoln County wins the repercussions for shooters in the State of Oregon will be staggering. Every county will be able to use the following cases as precedent to require anyone on private property to obtain a condition use permit before discharging a firearm. Your support is needed....

Henry Liu was a promising graduate student in Portland State University's conflict resolution program. He had excellent grades, with law school on the horizon. But his academic career swiftly derailed last spring after he confided to a classmate that he was upset with a faculty member and mentioned guns in the same conversation. Liu's classmate told campus police that her friend felt a lot of hatred and said of one assistant professor, "He could get shot." Liu, a gun enthusiast, denies making any such threat and says he never intended to harm anyone. Yet Portland State officials took swift and...

With gang violence on the increase in Portland, nonprofit Ceasefire Oregon is increasing the incentive for people willing to turn in unwanted guns at its Aug. 18 gun turn-in. Each workable gun given to authorities at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum parking lot — no questions asked — will net a $75 Fred Meyer gift certificate. The 2012 Gun Turn-In is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 at the parking lot on the north side of Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Last year’s event brought in 261 guns, up from 142 in 2010 but a decline from the 424 turned...

Nearly two years after Mayor Sam Adams first announced plans for a package of local gun ordinances meant to ease gang shootings—including a controversial plan to exclude gun criminals from shooting hotspots—an oversight committee has released a report that, at first blush, appears to confirm some of the worst fears raised by civil liberties advocates. So far, of 42 people convicted or charged with a gun crime, and then given an exclusion, 36 are African-American. In other words, 75 percent of everyone told they can't come back to one of the three zones, in downtown, along Interstate 5 in North...

SALEM, Ore. -- Police said a Salem man who had been drinking while playing with a gun ended up shooting his own television. The incident happened just before midnight July 14 in the 4000 block of Cranston Street Southeast in Salem. Steve Birr of the Salem Police Department said Robert Edward Walters, 54, was entertaining himself and his dog with a laser scope on his gun. He eventually pointed it at someone on the television and pulled the trigger, forgetting the gun was loaded. The bullet went through the wall into an adjacent home where five people were. One of...

FOREST GROVE, Ore. – A man jailed and accused of pointing an unloaded gun at kids who were using his property as a shortcut denied Wednesday he pointed the gun directly at them. Norman Allen Van Dyke, 67, was arrested Tuesday on charges of menacing and pointing a gun at a person. A 7-year-old boy and his two 9-year-old friends got off at the wrong bus stop and took Van Dyke’s gravel driveway, thinking it was a shortcut home. Van Dyke, who was released from jail after posting bail, says trespassers have been trashing his property and when posted signs,...

GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- With only a handful of deputies on patrol, Josephine County residents are taking steps to ensure their safety. Officials say applications for concealed handgun licenses have nearly quadrupled in the last few months. The Sheriff's Civil Office is now operating with one staff member who only works four days a week for four hours. But during that time, the lines have been out the door for concealed handgun licenses. Traditionally, the civil division has seen about 4 gun applications a day, but recently the office has been taking about 10 applications a day, a 72% increase....

PORTLAND -- Two men interrupted an armed robbery at a Metzger store and held the suspect down until police arrived Saturday night. Deputies were called just after 11:30 p.m. to the report of an armed robbery in progress at the Metzger Market, at 10055 SW Hall Boulevard, according to Sgt. David Thompson of the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The responding deputy arrived to find that the suspect, 21-year-old David L. Hager, was being held down by one of two people who had interrupted the robbery. Investigators said Hager had knocked on the door after the store was closed. When the...

In a case that left his heroin-addicted accomplice dead, a Coburg man was sentenced Thursday to nearly six years in prison for participating in the botched robbery of a drug dealer in a southeast Eugene neighborhood. Darrin George Dubouch was convicted of second-­degree robbery and first-­degree burglary, following a brief “stipulated facts” trial in Lane County Circuit Court. Judge Ilisa Rooke-Ley found Dubouch guilty of the felony charges after his attorney admitted that prosecutors had enough evidence to prove the allegations. Dubouch, 39, was arrested Feb. 2 after he and another man — Springfield resident Shawn Connelly — forced their...

A prominent Douglas County businessman has resigned from the Mercy Foundation board to protest a Catholic organization's stance on gun control. John Blodgett, vice president of Douglas County Forest Products, submitted his resignation to Mercy Medical Center CEO Kelly Morgan on Thursday. In an email to Morgan, Blodgett, who has been on the foundation's board of directors for almost five years, said it had come to his attention that Mercy's parent company, Catholic Health Initiatives, supports “anti-gun legislation.” “I want you to know that I served in the United States Army with the 1st Cavalry in Vietnam and watched my...

Last week’s State v. Christian (Ore. Ct. App. Mar. 21, 2012) considered a Portland, Oregon that provides, It is unlawful for any person to knowingly possess or carry a firearm, in or upon a public place, including while in a vehicle in a public place, recklessly having failed to remove all the ammunition from the firearm [with a bunch of exceptions, including for people with concealed carry licenses -- Oregon is a shall-issue state]. Jonathan Christian, who was prosecuted for violating the ordinance, challenged it on overbreadth grounds, arguing that it covered a substantial amount of constitutionally protected conduct. (Such...

When a child is severely injured by another child's possession of a gun, as happened recently in Kitsap County, some parent is probably at fault as well. However, that does not mean the parent is liable to be prosecuted for assault. The charge of assault in the third degree against the mother and her boyfriend who owned the gun distorts the law and is a political charge. To be guilty of third degree assault requires a showing that the defendant's conduct caused bodily harm accompanied by substantial pain. In virtually all cases of assault with a weapon, the defendant is...

The man shot by Washington County tactical officers in New Columbia Tuesday night had grabbed a gun because he thought intruders were on his property after his wife had checked on their barking dog in their backyard and saw a stranger in dark clothing. Alberto Flores-Haro, according to relatives and witnesses, did not know that the men surrounding his home and neighborhood Tuesday night were authorities approaching to raid a residence just a few doors down from his home in the 9500 block of North Woolsey Avenue. "There was someone in our backyard, and my mom called our stepdad," said...

DENVER — Courts are ruling in favor of allowing those with concealed-carry permits to bring their handguns on campus, but universities are figuring out ways to keep the guns out. Gun rights advocates recently notched major legal victories in Colorado and Oregon, with courts in both states agreeing that university policies banning firearms on campus must defer to state laws allowing permit holders to carry concealed handguns. In response, however, university officials in Oregon and Virginia have enacted policies allowing concealed carry on campus but not in buildings, including classrooms, dormitories, event centers and dining halls. The result is that...

Gun owners in the Beaver State should be pleased that the state Senate passed House Bill 4045, Concealed Handgun License (CHL) confidentiality legislation sponsored by state Representative Kim Thatcher (R-25), by a 24 to 5 vote. Furthermore, Senate Bill 1594, the last-minute campus gun ban introduced by state Senate President Peter Courtney (D-11), was defeated by a 15 to 14 vote. House Bill 4045 is a necessary legislative fix because under current law, the private personal information of every person holding a CHL in Oregon is at risk of being divulged to the public. HB 4045 passed in the House...

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...

While a number of questions in the case remain unanswered, police on Friday acknowledged that drugs may have been the target of two men who reportedly burst into a southeast Eugene home on Thursday in what authorities deswcribe as a home-invasion robbery attempt gone wrong. One of the alleged intruders — a man whose name has not yet been released by police — was fatally shot by a 27-year-old man who lives at the house in the 3300 block of Stoney Ridge Road. Police said they were working Friday to confirm the shooting victim’s identity and notify his family of...

EUGENE, Ore. -- Investigators say the south Eugene man who shot at two burglars -- killing one -- might have known the intruders. "There's reason to believe this is a target incident," said Eugene Police Detective Matt Herbert. Police say the two men who burglarized 3307 Stoney Ridge Road might have known the 27-year-old man and sole occupant inside and that drugs could have been a motive. "It's possible that drugs were involved," Herbert said. Officers say the resident called 9-1-1 Thursday afternoon and reported that two men were forcing their way into his home. The caller was able to...

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul outlined his views on immigration Wednesday, saying he favors a compassionate policy that doesn't rely on "barbed-wire fences and guns on our border."

January 27, 2012, 3:30 pm A prowler got more than he bargained for early this morning when he tried to break into a home in St. Johns. The homeowners noticed an open gate and things out of place last night, so the husband slept downstairs and armed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun. He heard noise just before 4:00am and confronted a man at his back door trying to get inside, firing three rounds, hitting the suspect who rode off on a bicycle. Officers searched the neighborhood around North Seward and Willamette Boulevard, finding and arresting 54-year-old Oscar Taylor Jr. behind...

Three neighbors have sued the Ashland Gun Club and the city of Ashland, alleging that lead ammunition is contaminating the environment and stray bullets are striking one of their properties. Cathy DeForest, her husband, Leon Pyle, and Dr. Edward Kerwin filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Medford on Dec. 23. They are represented by attorney Tom Dimitre, who is also chairman of the Rogue Group Sierra Club. The gun club has operated on city-owned land east of the Ashland Municipal Airport since the 1960s. It has a lease agreement with the city for use of the site. DeForest...

For Christmas, I picked up the Woolrich Elite Fleece Tactical Vest because I wanted a more discreet way to carry a full size handgun without having to resort to the “I’m a photographer/going fishing” vests that I have. As I mentioned previously, up here in the Pacific Northwest, a dude in a fleece vest is about as inconspicuous as you can get. There’s really only one month out of the year where it might look slightly out of place, but even in the summer we get temperatures that are chilly enough to justify wearing the vest. It’s comfortable, warm, and...

ALOHA, Ore. – An Aloha couple woke up Christmas morning to a man hitting them with a tiki torch. Washington County deputies are investigating the incident, which started with a home invasion, according to spokesman Bob Ray. It happened at a home on 209th Street. According to Ray, a man believed to be on drugs broke into the back door of the home while the couple was asleep, grabbed a bamboo tiki torch and took it into the bedroom where he beat the couple with it. The husband, who has not been identified, grabbed a handgun in self-defense and a...

PORTLAND — Police have identified the man who died after a home invasion as a 33-year-old Portland man. Donny Peterson was brought to a hospital with a stab wound on Friday night and died soon after. Portland police said the home invasion was the result of an ongoing conflict, but Portland police Lt. Robert King declined to elaborate Saturday. Police said Peterson was accompanied by his brother, 37-year-old Wilson Peterson. Wilson Peterson has been charged with first-degree burglary and second-degree assault. Police have not disclosed how Donny Peterson received the mortal injury, but said the homeowners will not face charges...

PORTLAND -- Bail for a man inside the Occupy Portland camp Wednesday on accusations related to a Tuesday Molotov cocktail fire was raised to $1 million by a judge Thursday. David Hodson, 29, was arraigned on first-degree arson, manufacturing a destructive device, possession of an explosive device and second-degree criminal mischief charges. --SNIP-- In an interview Wednesday morning on OPB, Mayor Sam Adams said that a suspect in the World Trade Center bombing was seen returning to the camp. Portland's World Trade Center houses the headquarters for Oregon's largest electric utility, state offices, a number of law firms and the...

Only 43 people turned in unwanted guns Saturday at Ceasefire Oregon’s latest community collection event, in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum parking lot. Last winter, Portland police collected 152 guns at a similar event, and earlier turn-ins yielded even more. Event organizers and Portland police, who help coordinate the turn-in, were at a loss to explain the drop. Maybe, they said, publicity for the event did not reach as many people. Among those it did reach were about two dozen gun collectors who lined up at the parking lot’s two entrances, hoping to convince people driving in to sell them their...

WARREN, Ore. - Columbia County Sheriff's Deputies are searching for a suspect after a Warren, Oregon homeowner opened fire when he was awakened by an intruder trying to get into his house. Warren is located along the Columbia River between Scappoose and St. Helens, Ore. Deputies said the unidentified man opened fire at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday and they do not know if the suspect was hit by the gunfire. The intruder fled the scene and no suspect information has been released. Monday morning, deputies sent out a press release saying the homeowner is a federal law enforcement officer With...