Issue Position: Public Safety

Issue Position

In the time since Kate was sworn in as governor, more than 600 Oregonians have died from violence inflicted with a gun - more than 100 of those due to homicidal violence. After meeting with families of victims in the Umpqua Community College shooting, she vowed to do whatever she could to prevent a such an event from happening again.
"Violence answers nothing, offers nothing, solves nothing. If we want to end violence, we must instill hope and create opportunity. I call on each of us, as Oregonians and as Americans, to join this call to end gun violence now."- Governor Kate Brown

Kate is proactively working to make Oregon a safer place to live by introducing new common sense gun safety legislation, focusing on campus safety and diversifying leadership to ensure Oregonians are treated fairly and have equal access to justice.

Common Sense Gun Safety

While Congress has continually failed to take action on common sense gun safety, Oregon is moving forward. Under Kate's leadership, Oregon became one of only eight states and D.C. to require background checks on private gun sales. And in July 2016, Kate took executive action to strengthen law enforcement efforts to track dangerous weapons, and called on the federal government to ban assault weapons and pass anti-terrorist legislation.

Kate refuses to sit idly by while innocent Americans lose their lives to senseless acts of violence. In the next legislative session, Kate will introduce important gun safety bills into the Oregon Legislature to help improve the safety of families all over the state:

Close the "boyfriend loophole" so people convicted of certain domestic violence crimes and stalking no longer have access to firearms.
Close the "Charleston loophole" to ensure dangerous people cannot obtain a gun simply because authorities were unable to complete the background check within the current timelines.
Ban extended capacity magazines that enable shooters to fire repeatedly and swiftly without needing to reload.
Improving Campus Safety for Oregon Students

Students should feel safe and secure on Oregon college and university campuses. This year, Kate brought state government, law enforcement officials and Oregon's public and private colleges together by creating the Campus Safety Work Group - a collaborative effort to help schools improve their safety practices to prevent, prepare for and effectively respond to crisis situations.

Kate will use the recommendations of the Campus Safety Work Group to give schools the guidance and tools they need to prevent another senseless act of violence.
Respect and Fairness in Oregon's Justice System

Kate is passionate about treating everyone with the fairness and respect they deserve no matter their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or background. As governor, she enacted legislation that created a task force to assess racial profiling in Oregon's justice system and recommend essential reforms to help prevent practices that unfairly target communities of color. This is part of her administration's efforts to bring diverse voices to the table when developing policy.

Kate will continue being a voice for the voiceless, fighting for more diversity in Oregon's government and justice system and standing up for equal treatment of all Oregonians.

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