This election cycle, the Ceasefire Oregon Action Fund endorsed candidates who either made gun violence prevention a major issue in their campaign without encouragement from us or who, as legislators, did not flinch from taking strong stands on the bills the will be effective at reducing gun violence. Consider what Oregon is facing: Death by gunshot has increased sharply throughout Oregon, increasing 46% from 2021 over 2019.  The Charleston Loophole was not closed during the pandemic enabling prohibited gun purchasers to buy guns without a completed background check. Gun sales are skyrock ..read more

President Biden Responds to the Explosion of Gun Violence in the US White House Fact Sheet is here President Biden’s executive order to curb gun violence and enhance background checks on firearms buyers was announced on March 14 at a Boys & Girls Club in the Monterey Park community which was devastated by a mass shooting on the eve of Lunar New Year in January. “I know what it’s like to get that call…. I know what it’s like to lose a loved one so suddenly. It’s like losing a piece of your soul,” Biden told about 200 people in the gymnasium of a Boys & Girls Club, referring to the 1972 ..read more

The following is a presentation by the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation for the Oregon Public Health Association Annual Conference October 2019. Programs Available to Educate Healthcare Professionals About Suicide Prevention NIMH – Ask Suicide Screening Questions Toolkit (ASQ) The Matt Adler Suicide Assessment, Treatment and Management Act of 2012, Washington State Henry Ford Zero Suicide: Suicide Prevention Guidelines for Health Care Providers Zero Suicide Institute QPR Professional Training BIG PICTURE: We can drastically reduce the rate of suicide. Suicides can be prevented. 70% of ..read more

Holiday parties are upon us and many people are inviting family members, old friends, and new faces to come into their homes. You might be, too.  Some of your guests might want to bring their firearms with them. As the host, you have the right to tell people that guns are not permitted in your home. Sadly, the holidays are not free from gun violence. Last Thanksgiving Day in the United States, 88 people were injured by gunfire and 45 people were killed by gunfire, including 4 children under the age of 11. That’s just in one day. Those numbers do not include suicide by firearm. Homeowners ..read more

The hour is late. As I am writing this, I am keeping watch on the news to see if the Uvalde death and injury tolls are rising. So far, nineteen (19!!) children and 2 adults were fatally shot by an 18-year-old with a gun. At least 7 more people have been injured. The bodies are so badly damaged by gunshots that parents need DNA tests to identify the bodies of their children. Lots of people have contacted me about the shooting. They want to know what to do and they almost always try to explain how they feel. This time, people are describing themselves as furious and nauseated.  I say “this ..read more

October 14, 2020 The Ceasefire Oregon Action Fund, a political action committee,  endorses candidates who will support strong, evidence-based laws to stop gun violence. This year, we are specifically asking people to support women and minorities in rural Oregon who have taken challenging races. Carina Miller, Miriam Cummins, Faith Leith, and Eileen Kiely deserve your support. Please note that we are still waiting for information from a few candidates and we could expand our list of endorsements. Please vote as soon as possible. Thank you. The Ceasefire Oregon Action Fund. Donate to the C ..read more

Suicide can be prevented.  If you are having thoughts of suicide, help is available 24 hours a day:  Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or  text 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. Firearms are used in more than 80% of all suicides in Oregon. According to a March 2021 report in The Washington Post, an estimated 24,000 people in the United States died by suicide with a gun in 2020 alone. Restricting access to firearms or removing all firearms from your home greatly reduces the risk that someone in your home will use a firearm for suicide. Unfortunat ..read more

Firearm death and injury is increasing but, to borrow a phrase from President-elect Joe Biden, we can marshal the forces of decency, compassion, and science to pass the laws and enact the policies that will end–yes, end–the nightmare of gun violence. Ceasefire Oregon analyzed how the state and federal elections will impact the future of firearm injury prevention in Oregon and nationwide. We have a short version and a more detailed version below that. The Biden-Harris administration with Democratic Senate and House majorities could pass some of the most significant firearm injury prevention leg ..read more

Illegal Nullification of Laws in Four Oregon Counties UPDATE December 2, 2020: Columbia and Umatilla counties both passed the illegal nullification measures on their ballots. Columbia did so despite having one of the highest rates of increase in a leading indicator of gun sales in Oregon. The firearm instant background check system requests to the Oregon State Police rose by 88% in Columbia County from January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Columbia County has not stated how they will prepare for an increase in suicide, homicide, unintentional shootings, and ..read more

States with weak gun laws see 50% more mass shooting fatalities. States with weak laws experienced 63% more mass shootings with an assault weapon.  Oregon’s firearm suicide rate of 94.1 per million much higher than national rate. Since 2013, the number of annual mass shootings nationwide jumped by 65%. In states with strong laws, mass shooting incidents increased by 33% and fatalities by 26%, but in states with weak laws, mass shootings increased by a staggering 91% and fatalities by 92%.  The use of an assault weapon makes mass shootings four times more lethal. The Umpqua Communit ..read more