Portland mayor proposes new
measures to curb illegal guns

Portland, 2 September 2010: Despite strong opposition from America’s influential Nation Rifle Association (NRA), Portland Mayor Sam Adams is going ahead with plans to strengthen existing gun laws. A spokesman for the mayor said, the move was in response to an increase in gang-related shootings. “Last week there were 10 gang-related shootings in the Portland Metro area, and over the weekend there was an additional deadly shooting which was not gang-related," he said.

The mayor has proposed the following changes and/or additions to current regulations:
• A curfew for juveniles convicted of gun-law violations.
• A new city crime of failure to control kids’ access to guns.
• A new city crime of failure to report loss or theft of guns.
• Increase penalties for illegal possession of loaded firearms.
• Excluding gun-law violators from neighborhoods with high rates of illegal firearm use.

Mayor Adams issued a statement saying that the illegal use of firearms was a long-standing community problem in the City of Portland. « Changes to federal and state gun laws are needed. That is why I am a founding member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. At the state level, Ceasefire Oregon is advocating for common-sense gun safety laws. The Brady Campaign is working on gun education and lobbying on the national level. But the enactment of state and federal gun safety laws is a slow and uncertain process. In the meantime, due to lax gun safety laws, cities like Portland get caught in the crossfire: literally and tragically," the mayor said.

While, according to straw polls, the majority of people support the mayor, critics say the mayor was overstepping his authority.