There were three men who testified during the four hour long hearing to which I wanted to call especial attention and which should be heeded by anyone seriously contemplating the issues of gun violence and what government’s role in gun ownership should be.  (For all of the testimony check out my live blog here.)

Civil rights supporters should begin asking gun grabbers the kinds of questions that Chris Cochran of Gresham brought up. Cochran began by saying he has an eleven month old child. He faced the lawmakers and said,

I’m thinking about sending my child to public school. It depends on outcome of these bills. I don’t know want to send him to school where people won’t be able to defend him.

He continued,

I’d like to be able to carry my weapon [in schools]. It’s sad to me that you’re trying to disarm law abiding citizens. Is there a time when CHL permit holder who went thru back ground check, got mug shot etc and committed a crime?

We should make the Senator Prozanskis, Laurie Monnes Andersons and Ginny Burdicks answer these concerns. 

Cochran’s observations were supported by another man: the former Florence, Oregon Police Chief, Maury Sanders, who testified against SB 347 (allowing school districts to ban guns on campus) and said guns should be allowed on campuses because cops never get there in time. As he put it,

Active shooting situations happens too fast. I support any opportunity for someone to stop a bad guy before cops get there. SB 347 does nothing to make our children safer, in fact it makes it harder to keep them safe.

And then the testimony which was powerful but only for people who love liberty and only for people who know history. Manuel Martinez told the panel he was born in Cuba and an American citizen for 40 years. In his unwavering, powerful voice he told them (according to my notes),

I oppose all efforts to disturb the second amendment of the United States. In 1959 revolutionaries masquerading as Democrats took over my nation. They were communists, Marxists. They took away the rights of the people to their guns. Rights aren’t given by government but given by God. No one has authority to give it away. My fight for freedom will end only with my death. You people don’t know what freedom is because you’ve never lost it. You haven’t been through tortures, begging for your son’s life because all he wanted was to be free. We are open the same way that Cuba was open for communism…like other countries. Gun control doesn’t protect citizens the only reason for the gun control …government to protect themselves from citizens. In that way government can manipulate and subjugate the people. I came here for freedom. 

Daylight Disinfectant captured this latter testimony on tape.