Oregon Democrat Accused of Bullying Colleague Over Vote on Gun Bill

An Oregon state representative is facing an internal investigation after he allegedly coerced a fellow Democrat lawmaker into changing her vote on a bill that would make it more expensive for residents to exercise their Second Amendment rights. 

Second Amendment advocate Derek LeBlanc filed the complaint with the Legislative Equity Office after a House Judiciary Committee meeting this week, where Rep. Jason Kropf, who chairs the committee, apparently wouldn’t take “no” for an answer from fellow Democrat Rep. Thủy Trần on a vote to amend HB 4145; a bill modifying some of the provisions of the “permit-to-purchase” and “large capacity” magazine ban narrowly approved by Oregon voters as Measure 144 back in 2022. 

The laws have yet to take effect, thanks in part to legal challenges, and HB 4145 would extend the start date to 2028. It would also, however. raise the fee for a permit to $150, and would give permitting authorities two months to approve or deny an application. The bill could have died in committee this week, but instead it passed after Kropf allegedly bullied Trân into changing her vote. 

Legislative video of the work session captured Trần voting “no” and Kropf loudly inhaling for over a second. He then abruptly paused the meeting before all members of the House Judiciary Committee had a chance to vote. Without a “yes” from Trần, the amendment would have failed.

The complaint claims that once Kropf and Trần had stepped outside the meeting room, Kropf “threatened” Trần, then reconvened the meeting. A clock on the wall shows nearly 20 minutes passed during the break.

Kropf called for a re-vote on his amendment, which prompted Trần to pause in what appeared to be the beginning of an uncomfortable exchange. 

“What, excuse me, what are we…?” Trần asked.

Before she could finish her sentence, Kropf answered: “This is the vote on the -3 amendment.”

“Again,” explained Rep. Kevin Mannix, a Republican from Salem, who was sitting next to Trần.

“Do you need a minute?” Kropf said.

Trần responded: “Um, didn’t we just vote on it already?”

Kropf explained: “I asked for a recall of the vote.”“OK,” Trần said, then paused yet again.

Trần went on to switch her vote to “yes.” She soon after voted “yes” on the bill overall, advancing it out of committee just before a Monday deadline would have killed the bill.

Trân told The Oregonian that she votes “according to my values,” but never explained why her values seemingly changed after Kropf hauled her into the hallway for 20 minutes. She also agreed that Kropf “created a hostile working environment to me, staff, advocates, and the public” during the meeting, while claiming that she still has a “great deal of respect” for the lawmaker. 

Bend Residents. House District 54. Anti-firearm advocates. This is your champion. Are you proud of Rep Kropf and his bullying?

Are you pleased to have a white, upper crust, male in a position of power openly using his position to intimidate, dominate, and control a female of… pic.twitter.com/VZIwdlkFm9

— Tony Aiello, Jr. – Civil Attorney (@TonyAielloJr) February 17, 2026

Earlier this week I wrote about the lengths that lawmakers are going to in the U.S. Virgin Islands to suppress the voices of gun owners, but this incident in Oregon shows that anti-gun politicians are willing to suppress the voices of their colleagues too, at least when their voice threatens to derail their gun control agenda. 

As of right now, Measure 114 is set to take effect on March 15. As I wrote when I first covered HB 4145, while both Measure 114 and the current house bill are steaming piles of infringement, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if the permit-to-purchase requirement and magazine ban were delayed until 2028, given the ongoing legal challenges. 

The two-year delay would be good for gun owners and firearm retailers, while the increased fee and potential 60-day waiting period would add new evidence to the argument that the law runs afoul of the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen, which said that even “shall issue” permitting regimes for concealed carry licenses can violate the Constitution if they impose exorbitant fees or result in lengthy delays. 

Adding an extra $150 dollars to the cost of buying a gun (plus the cost of the mandated training) and forcing people to wait for up to two months before they can exercise a fundamental civil right sure seems exorbitant and excessive to me, and the more egregious the law, the more likely it is to be struck down… at least in theory. 

A two-year delay would also give the U.S. Supreme Court time to take up a mag ban case. Challenges to magazine bans in Washington and California are already before SCOTUS, though the justices haven’t granted cert or denied the cases outright. Other cases, including gun and magazine bans in Illinois and New Jersey, are awaiting decisions by appeals courts, and those too are likely to reach SCOTUS well before 2028. 

Unfortunately, under the current text of HB 4145 the magazine ban kicks in on January 1 of next year, with the permit-to-purchase requirements starting in January 2028. 

Regardless of whether or not HB 4145 is signed into law before March 15, Oregon gun owners are still dealing with a major infringement on their right to keep and bear arms. The Oregon Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether or not Measure 114 complies with the protection of the right to keep and bear arms found in the state constitution, and a federal challenge to Measure 114 is on hold pending the state Supreme Court’s decision. No matter what the legislature does in Oregon this year, it will ultimately be up to the courts to decide whether the permit-to-purchase scheme and ban on commonly owned magazines can be enforced.

Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights, as this clearly shows.

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