Portland City Council Member Wants to Open Carry After Anti-ICE Protest

A Portland, Oregon Democrat on the city council is the latest lefty public official to signal support for the Second Amendment, though at the moment she seems to be far more interested in her right to carry than anyone else’s.

The change of heart was sparked by a protest during the latest city council meeting, where dozens of members of a group called “Revoke the ICE Permit PDX” interrupted the proceedings. At first the disruption was only verbal, with chants and shouts. Ultimately, though, four people were arrested after one protester made her way to the dais to shove a petition filled with signatures demanding public officials boot ICE out of its facility in the city. 

Susan Anglada Bartley was eventually arrested for trespassing along with three other members of the group, but the experience rattled one council member enough that she wants to be able to openly carry a handgun during future meetings. 

Councilor Loretta Smith, who represents East Portland in District 1, has drafted a city ordinance to allow city councilors to openly carry a firearm while conducting city business. Smith has never carried a firearm.

“It’s a defensive mechanism,” Smith told OPB. “If people know that you’re a serious person and you’re going to protect yourself they’re not going to be as quick to mess with you.”

Now, I don’t have a problem with city councilors being able to open carry in City Hall, so long as the average citizen can do so as well. As it is, most government buildings are open to those with concealed carry permits, so Smith could always choose that route and just let it be known that she’s armed for her protection. Carving out an exception to Portland’s open carry ordinance that only applies to city councilors, though, should be a non-starter for the city attorney and their staff. 

Mayor Keith Wilson did not attend the Wednesday meeting. But, in an email to OPB, he said those kinds of disruptions by protesters “pose serious safety risks.”

He didn’t outright support Smith’s proposal, but acknowledged her concern.

“I stand in support of my council colleagues who were subjected to unacceptable aggression and verbal abuse,” Wilson wrote, “one of whom stated that the session was so unsafe and ‘out of control’ that she is now considering a concealed weapons permit and a firearm.”

If nothing else this should be a teachable moment for Smith and the Second Amendment community in Oregon. If she wants to avail herself of her Second Amendment rights, great. But I do hope her firearms instructor and the FFL who sells Smith her first gun take the opportunity to point out the barriers that the Democrat-controlled state legislature are putting between her and her rights. 

If Measure 114 was in effect, for instance, Smith would have to apply for a permit-to-purchase a handgun from the Multnomah County Sheriff, undergo a mandatory training class and potentially spend more than $100 on the permit application just to keep a gun in her home. If she actually wanted to carry it anywhere she’d be looking at forking over even more money in training and application fees. And regardless of which permit she’d apply for, the wait times for both a permit-to-purchase or a concealed carry permit could stretch on for weeks or even months. 

Maybe Smith is okay with all of that, even if means she’ll continue to be unarmed at upcoming city council meetings. If she is serious about protecting herself though, I’m guessing she might suddenly discover she has some issues with Oregon’s gun laws. And if the Second Amendment means anything to her, she won’t work to just exempt herself and her colleagues from those infringements, but will start using her voice and position to demand every peaceable gun owner in the state be able to exercise their 2A rights without needless interference and government-imposed delays.

Editor’s Note: Second Amendment groups are doing everything they can to protect our right to armed self-defense. 

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