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Five residents of Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview sue Multnomah County claiming gun-control law doesn't apply

by Aimee Green

Five residents of cities in east Multnomah County filed suit Friday against the county, claiming county commissioners overstepped their bounds in April by passing a gun-control law banning loaded firearms not only in unincorporated areas, but city limits, too.The residents argue that county commissioners only had the power to limit guns in unincorporated areas — which amount to about 2 percent of the county's roughly 750,000 residents. The lawsuit contends that the commissioners' powers do not apply to more conservative-minded residents within the city limits of Fairview, Gresham, Maywood Park, Troutdale or Wood Village — even though the gun-control ordinance states: "This ordinance will apply countywide unless a city within Multnomah County enacts separate legislation on this same subject matter."

The ordinance, which took effect in late May, is largely modeled after a law passed by the Portland City Council in 2010. The Multnomah County ordinance, among other requirements:

• bans possession of loaded firearms in public places, with some exceptions, such as licensed hunters engages in legal hunting.
• makes punishable by a $500 fine and 10 days in jail the offense of "Endangering a Child by Allowing Access to a Firearm." The ordinance allows for exceptions, such as gun owners who locked their guns in a safe.
• creates a curfew of 7 p.m. for minors who have been found by a court to have unlawfully possessed a gun.

Attorney Bruce McCain, who retired as a captain in the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in 2009, filed the suit on behalf of the five east county residents: Roxanne Ross, Cheryl R. Bowen, Frank Martin, Frank Grande and Brian Grattan. Three live in Gresham, one in Troutdale and one in Fairview.McCain said he's heard from city council members from all three cities. They say they're unhappy with county commissioners' attempt to overstep their authority, he said.McCain said he plans to address each of those councils during meetings this week and next week.

The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court. It asks a judge to find that the ordinance doesn't apply to cities, unless the city councils pass legislation saying it does.County spokesman David Austin said the county isn't commenting on the suit because of the pending litigation."Our county attorney's office will look at the suit, and we will defend it. We stand by the ordinance." 

Five residents of Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview sue Multnomah County claiming gun-control law doesn't apply
http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2013/07/five_residents_of_gresham_trou.html

John Hames