Where Congress is on gun laws may not be where you are on gun laws. We took at look at what some local politicians think.

This is one of many topics we hope to explore on policy matters before the November election.

We asked Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican, who represents Baker County and the rest of Oregon east of the Cascades. And we also asked the two major candidates for the new Congressional seat that will include much of Central Oregon, Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner.

All three responded. No surprises for us in their responses. Note that we asked about the Protecting Our Kids Act, HR 7910, and the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, HR 2377.

HR 7910 basically makes it so semiautomatic weapons can’t be sold to people under 21; it creates a framework for regulating guns without serial numbers, commonly called ghost guns; bans the sale and possession of large capacity magazines; and more.

HR 2377 is what some people call a red flag law. It allows family members or law enforcement to petition a court for a temporary order to prohibit someone from purchasing or possessing a firearm. Oregon has a similar law, already.

Bentz opposes both bills.

“Each of these laws, if enacted, would be litigated, delayed in implementation, and in several cases, held to be unconstitutional,” he wrote in an email. “What we should immediately do is forcefully tell the Department of Justice to prosecute individuals who lie on their background checks, end straw firearm purchases, conduct more detailed background checks, enhance (within the law) the capabilities of law enforcement agencies gathering background information, and crack down on people selling firearms from their personal collection without a dealer’s permit. Instead of politicizing the response, we should be actually enforcing our existing laws and addressing the mental health crisis that results in these terrible events.”

He pointed out he has co-sponsored other legislation that would allow schools to take unused COVID-19 funding and hire more school resource officers and mental health guidance counselors.

“Confiscating guns will not solve this problem,” he wrote. “The rights protected by Second Amendment are integral to American liberty.”

Chavez-DeRemer did not tell us how she would vote on the two bills, specifically. Read into her response what you will.

“I’m a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment and will vote to protect our Constitutional rights in Congress,” she wrote in an email. “Oregonians are being crushed right now by inflation caused by reckless spending. We desperately need commonsense leadership, so that families aren’t extraordinarily burdened when we get gasoline for our cars or buy our family’s groceries.”

McLeod-Skinner says she would vote for both bills.

“Both bills are common sense safety measures to help protect our families and respect the rights of responsible gun owners,” she wrote in an email. “My dad hunted to put food on our table, and I live in rural Oregon where a lot of people own guns. Responsible gun owners are committed to keeping our communities safe and they reject the fear-mongering of those opposing these common sense measures. Unfortunately, D.C. insiders and extremist politicians are out of touch with the vast majority of Oregonians and Americans, including gun owners, who believe that a felon should not be able to buy a gun in a parking lot without a background check, or that an 18-year-old or someone who is a known danger to themselves or others shouldn’t be able to buy a weapon of war.”

Bentz may be your representative. Chavez-DeRemer or McLeod-Skinner may be your representative in the future. You can tell them what you think about these bills and gun control.

You can email Bentz at https://bentz.house.gov/contact. A campaign email for Chavez-DeRemer is info@lorichavezderemer.com. A campaign email for McLeod-Skinner is campaign@jamiefororegon.com.

Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Baker City Herald. Columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the Baker City Herald.