Posted on Jun 28, 2023
Oregon lawmakers send paramilitary bill to governor’s desk
474
6
5
3
3
0
Amid the chaotic final days at the Oregon State Capitol, lawmakers passed some of the most comprehensive and modern legislation in the nation aimed at targeting paramilitary activity.
House Bill 2572 allows the Attorney General to seek a court order if they have “reasonable cause to believe that a person or group of persons has engaged in, or is about to engage in, paramilitary activity.” The legislation also provides individuals “injured as a result of paramilitary activity” the ability to seek a court injunction by filing a lawsuit.
“We need to give our law enforcement agencies the tools they need to confront the dangerous and troubling rise of extremism in this country,” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a statement on Monday. “This bill does that, and it will be applied to paramilitary activity.”
House Bill 2572 allows the Attorney General to seek a court order if they have “reasonable cause to believe that a person or group of persons has engaged in, or is about to engage in, paramilitary activity.” The legislation also provides individuals “injured as a result of paramilitary activity” the ability to seek a court injunction by filing a lawsuit.
“We need to give our law enforcement agencies the tools they need to confront the dangerous and troubling rise of extremism in this country,” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a statement on Monday. “This bill does that, and it will be applied to paramilitary activity.”
Oregon lawmakers send paramilitary bill to governor’s desk
Posted from opb.org
Posted 11 mo ago
Responses: 3
2
2
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Similar legislation was considered in other states, such as New Mexico. Last month, Vermont lawmakers outlawed paramilitary training camps. Washington state lawmakers have expressed interest in legislation similar to what Oregon passed.
House Bill 2572 was crafted with the help of Mary McCord, a national expert on terrorism and domestic extremism. She said from the beginning, the law was written to prevent potential abuse.
“If a political group is not doing those active things listed in the statute, you’re not going to be able to use this statute to go after political groups,” McCord said. “That said – it’s not crazy to distrust law enforcement or even attorneys general – we’ve certainly had a history in this country of law enforcement sometimes going after disfavored political groups, so I understand the concern.”
Until 2017, McCord served as a top national security official at the U.S. Department of Justice and now runs the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center. She has successfully used civil litigation similar to what Oregon lawmakers just passed to stop paramilitary groups in New Mexico and Virginia.
“You can have folks who are armed, that are patrolling their neighborhood, that in and of itself would not meet the definition,” Grayber said. “If that group decided they were going to patrol a ballot box and decide who can access the ballot box and who cannot, then that would meet the definition.”
..."Similar legislation was considered in other states, such as New Mexico. Last month, Vermont lawmakers outlawed paramilitary training camps. Washington state lawmakers have expressed interest in legislation similar to what Oregon passed.
House Bill 2572 was crafted with the help of Mary McCord, a national expert on terrorism and domestic extremism. She said from the beginning, the law was written to prevent potential abuse.
“If a political group is not doing those active things listed in the statute, you’re not going to be able to use this statute to go after political groups,” McCord said. “That said – it’s not crazy to distrust law enforcement or even attorneys general – we’ve certainly had a history in this country of law enforcement sometimes going after disfavored political groups, so I understand the concern.”
Until 2017, McCord served as a top national security official at the U.S. Department of Justice and now runs the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center. She has successfully used civil litigation similar to what Oregon lawmakers just passed to stop paramilitary groups in New Mexico and Virginia.
“You can have folks who are armed, that are patrolling their neighborhood, that in and of itself would not meet the definition,” Grayber said. “If that group decided they were going to patrol a ballot box and decide who can access the ballot box and who cannot, then that would meet the definition.”
(2)
(0)
0
0
0
Very interesting law...
Among the things it bans would include:
- high school and college ROTC programs
- drill teams,
- veterans or patriotic group color guards,
- firing squads for veterans funerals,
- boy scouts with pocket knives,
- private security guards,
- ALL firearms training,
- and any sort of peaceful protest that the AG disapproves of.
But, of course, "trust us" the AG would never use the law against any of those...
Among the things it bans would include:
- high school and college ROTC programs
- drill teams,
- veterans or patriotic group color guards,
- firing squads for veterans funerals,
- boy scouts with pocket knives,
- private security guards,
- ALL firearms training,
- and any sort of peaceful protest that the AG disapproves of.
But, of course, "trust us" the AG would never use the law against any of those...
(0)
(0)
0
0
0
I seem to remember the presumption of innocence until proven guilty of an act was the way our justice system worked.
(0)
(0)
MSG Thomas Currie
That is an outmoded way of thinking. We need to be able to stop crimes before they are committed, especially thought crimes.
(0)
(0)
PO3 Shayne Seibert
LMAO! Thought crimes! That's the funniest thing I've seen today. I'm even having a hard time typing, I'm laughing so hard!
Thanks for adding some humor to my day!
Thanks for adding some humor to my day!
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google