Ceasefire Oregon

12/06/2025

Today we celebrate four years of Teachers Unify!

In the wake of too many school and community shootings, ongoing inaction from our leaders, and the exclusion of teachers and school staff from crucial conversations, Teachers Unify was founded.

Looking back on the last four years, we’re incredibly proud of our progress and impact:

🍎 Empowering thousands of educators at conferences, convenings, and through our Teachers Unify Podcast.
☮️ Educating communities about secure firearm storage.
📚 Participating in research and shaping policy.
📓 Building a support system for schools facing the fear and trauma of gun violence through our Crisis Intervention and Support Team.

Together we can amplify teachers’ voices and reshape how our nation confronts gun violence — so we can build a future where kids, families, and educators feel safe, supported, and free to learn.

12/05/2025

12/03/2025

Gun owners have the right to know about high levels of lead in their children's blood--but the NRA - National Rifle Association of America and arms dealers aren't telling them--or the people who visit those homes which might be coated with lead dust.

The Journal of Pediatrics found that higher child blood lead was associated with household firearm ownership and older housing.

Lead dust from hunting and shooting clings to clothing & equipment and spreads into the home--and into your kids.

Health authorities agree that there is no safe level of lead in a child's blood.

Even low levels are linked to developmental delays, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems.

The effects of lead poisoning can be permanent.

Children's bodies absorb more lead, and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to its effects.

And finally--firearm injuries are still the leading cause of death for kids and teens in the US.

You deserve to know the truth about guns.

To determine if firearm ownership is positively related to elevated child lead levels at a state-level, even when accounting for other sources of lead.

12/02/2025

Remember: it's about we -- not me. Share the love even if it's a simple like. May the peace of the season be with you.
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I've been working in the firearm injury prevention arena at the state and federal level for 25 years. Many firearm injury prevention advocates ask me about the best GVP organizations to donate to at this time of year. Of course, as the volunteer exec director for the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation (COEF), I will say COEF or our sister organization Ceasefire Oregon. We are not bankrolled by millionaires (or billionaires) in Oregon or anywhere else. Our funders are people like you and some generous Oregon non-profits.

COEF provides information about firearm injury prevention, firearm laws at the national and state level, and firearm trigger locks. Ceasefire Oregon advocates for strong, effective legislation.

We have more than 25 years of expertise and connections throughout the state and federal level. We are small but mighty and we are not afraid to speak truth to power. I hope you can donate to Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit.

If you are interested in a great PAC for a donation, I recommend Lift Every Voice Oregon (LEVO), also known as the Measure 114 folks. Ceasefire Oregon is very proud to have worked side by side with them but they are, hands down, worthy of your dollars. LEVO and their allies and supporters, together, are THE movement behind the strongest firearm injury prevention legislation Oregonians ever passed.

At the national level, Survivors Empowered is a great organization that helps survivors of gun violence -- and has deep connections with Ceasefire Oregon. Survivors Empowered was founded by Sandy and Lonny Phillips whose daughter was one of 12 fatally shot in a movie theater in Colorado in 2012. The Phillipses lost their house and were bankrupted when they tried to sue the arms dealer who sold the bullets used in their daughter's shooting. Sandy and Lonnie continue to work to repeal the unjust arms industry immunity bill and help survivors.

Another great organization is Newtown Action Alliance. They are very steadfast, determined advocates who are daily working in Washington, DC to pass strong, effective gun laws. They also deserve your attention. Ceasefire Oregon connects and works with NAA every single chance we get.

You might say, "Hey, that's a lot of organizations." I know, but they are all worthy of your consideration. Ceasefire Oregon, COEF, LEVO, Survivors Empowered, and Newtown Action Alliance don't have deep-pocket funding. Even just donating a few dollars will help them. But the best way to help is to donate monthly so the organizations can better budget.

These are not rich state or national orgs with employees receiving six figure salaries like some big groups. These orgs, including Ceasefire, are almost all volunteer and they are making the difference every single day.

Firearm injuries are the LEADING CAUSE of death for kids and teens in the United States -- and it's completely preventable! So please help us out a bit if you can. And if you can't, please just leave us a "like" for this post. We are truly grateful. Our best wishes for a peaceful and safe holiday season for you and your loved ones.

Your contribution helps to reduce gun violence.

12/01/2025

Out today, the first book from GVPedia founder Devin Hughes is a concise guide to understanding our gun crisis

11/23/2025

We thank The Oregonian for printing a letter from the Ceasefire Oregan Action Fund.

Firearm ownership is unique among rights
Penny Okamoto
Ceasefire Oregon Action Fund

Firearm ownership is unique among rights because it is the only right that can end another person’s life. A right with inherently lethal potential must be exercised with the highest standards of responsibility like those found in Oregon’s Measure 114.

During a recent hearing of Arnold v. Kotek, the Oregon Supreme Court considered Measure 114, passed by voters in 2022, which requires a permit to purchase a firearm and basic safety training. One justice asked whether other constitutional rights require training or a fee.

Many rights carry procedural requirements or modest costs. We must pay fees to obtain parade or public protest permits, and must pay printing costs of initiative petitions — all activities intertwined with the First Amendment. These requirements do not diminish our right to speak, assemble, or petition our government; they exist to protect public order and the rights of others.

The same principle applies to fi****ms. The right to bear arms, a right involving an object that can be lost, stolen, misused, or wielded in anger, is unlike any other right in the Oregon and U.S. constitutions. It carries the immediate power to take a life; gunshot wounds are the leading cause of death of children and teens in the United States.

Standards, training, and accountability matter. A permit process, training, safety education, and a fee do not erode rights. They help ensure that, in a nation with more than 400 million fi****ms, the exercise of one person’s liberty does not extinguish another’s.

https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2025/11/readers-respond-reasonable-requirements-dont-diminish-gun-rights.htm

Letters to the Editor can be submitted to letters@oregonian.com with full name and place of residence.

11/18/2025

https://www.mobilize.us/newtownactionalliance/event/847257/

Each year since 2013, the Newtown Action Alliance Foundation (NAAF), the charitable arm of the Newtown Action Alliance (NAA), and numerous partners in the gun violence prevention community have sponsored the National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence on or near the anniversary of the Sandy Hook....

11/11/2025

Research reveals veterans often favor more restrictive gun control than civilians

11/11/2025

Honoring All Who Served
Veterans' Day
2025

11/09/2025

Crisis Intervention & Support Team Member Spotlight: Abbey Clements

“A team like this has been talked about, asked for, and needed for decades. Until we as a nation choose to end this public health crisis, educators and school staff must receive support from those who truly understand — those who grasp the challenges, the grief, and the courage it takes to move forward in the wake of gun violence and the persistent fear of it.”

Abbey Clements is a co-founder and the Executive Director of Teachers Unify. She taught for over 30 years and has been a gun violence prevention activist since enduring the Sandy Hook School tragedy with her 2nd grade students in 2012.

Abbey couldn’t be more proud to be part of this incredible team.

Team contact information:
response@teachersunify.org
203-296-3689
🩷☮️📚📓

11/07/2025

Our hearts are with Marshawn Kneeland’s family, friends, fans, and the Dallas Cowboys community. If you or someone you know is considering su***de, 988 is your help line. Oregon has an Extreme Risk Protection Order that will temporarily disarm a person in crisis.

HEARTBREAKING: Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died early this morning by apparent gun su***de. He was only 24 years old.

Marshawn was a beloved son, teammate, and friend who touched so many. Just earlier this week Marshawn scored his first career touchdown. His family said he was kind, determined, humble, and full of love.

America’s su***de crisis is a gun crisis: the majority of American su***de deaths involve fi****ms. But these tragedies are preventable. Our hearts are with Marshawn’s family as they grieve this tragic loss.

Even in moments when the world feels heavy and overwhelming, remember that you are not alone. Help and support are always available, 24/7. If you or a loved one are contemplating su***de, please call or text the National Su***de Prevention Lifeline: 988.

11/07/2025

Today's Oregon Supreme Court hearing of Arnold v Kotek regarding Measure 114 included a common mistaken people make about the right to armed rebellion.

During the hearing, Justice Duncan asked the pro-shooting lawyer Mr. Aiello: "In your view, what are the underlying principles, what were the goals or objectives of the people who drafted Article 1, Section 27?" Aiello answered: "To allow people, and Hirsh/Friend delves into this as well, the ultimate goal of any right to bear arms is the ability to repel a tyrannical government."

Mr. Aiello mistakenly quoted a section that is part of the Court’s historical background discussion, not its binding legal decision.

The Hirsch/Friend decision protects responsible, lawful gun ownership while confirming that Oregon’s government has the constitutional authority to regulate fi****ms in the interest of public safety. Neither Oregon law nor the U.S. Constitution grants anyone the right to use fi****ms to attack or overthrow government officials. In a democracy, change happens through votes, not violence — and that principle is one of the most powerful protections of freedom we have.

1️⃣ The Oregon Constitution protects lawful self-defense — not rebellion.
The U.S. Supreme Court in *District of Columbia v. Heller* (2008) ruled that the Second Amendment protects a personal right to own fi****ms for lawful purposes, such as self-defense in the home — not for taking up arms against government officials.

2️⃣ Oregon law says the same.
In *State v. Hirsch/Friend* (338 Or 622 (2005)), the Oregon Supreme Court held that Article I, Section 27 of the state constitution does not grant an unlimited or insurrectionary right to bear arms. Rights to possess fi****ms are subject to reasonable regulation for public safety.

3️⃣ Change comes through democracy, not violence.
When citizens disagree with government actions, the constitutional tools for reform are voting, petitioning, protest, and the courts — not guns.

Article I, section 27, does not confer an unfettered right to possess or use fi****ms. The legislature retains authority to regulate the possession and use of fi****ms to promote the safety and welfare of the public.” — *State v. Hirsch/Friend* (2005)

State v Hirsch/Friend https://law.justia.com/cases/oregon/supreme-court/2005/s49370.html
Oregon Constitution – Article I, Section 27](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors001.html)
District of Columbia v. Heller (Cornell Law)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZO.html)

State v. Hirsch/Friend