Antigovernment Extremists Gather at Oregon Capitol to Protest New Gun Law
Angered by the Oregon Legislature鈥檚 recent approval of a new law requiring background checks for most gun purchases, a few hundred antigovernment 鈥淧atriots鈥� from around the region gathered over the weekend outside the state Capitol to announce their refusal to comply with the law.
The rally was not only closely modeled after similar protests in the neighboring state of Washington earlier this year to protest a nearly identical voter-approved gun-control statute, it was in fact being led by some of the same extremists who led the rallies in Olympia.
Among 聽were聽 Mike Vanderboegh, cofounder of the so-called 鈥淚II Percent鈥� movement, and several 鈥淲ill Not Comply鈥� leaders from Washington state, notably Gavin Seim and Anthony Bosworth.
Seim is the 鈥渓iberty speaker鈥� from Ephrata, Wash., who organized the to protest Washington鈥檚 new background-check law, a gathering that featured such antigovernment figures as Richard Mack and Vanderboegh. Bosworth, who has also led , led in February that also featured Vanderboegh, in which marchers unsuccessfully attempted to defy the law by carrying their guns into the capitol building.
Oregon鈥檚 Senate Bill 941, requiring background checks on most gun purchases in the state, was approved by the Legislature in early May and . Gun-rights advocates have been recall elections against key politicians who voted for the law.
