Washington County effort tries to head off a possible appeals court decision
Washington County Sheriff Rob Gordon is warning thousands of concealed handgun license holders that their names could be made public unless they request anonymity.
On Friday, Nov. 7, Gordon began rallying about 10,000 people in the county who hold the licenses to take action ahead of a possible Court of Appeals decision that could force agencies to disclose their identities. In the sheriff’s office online newsletter, Gordon asked permit holders to tell the department they wanted their personal information to be kept secret.
By Monday morning, about 470 people had responded to Gordon’s request, checking an online box with the message: “I want my concealed handgun license information to be kept confidential and to be protected from release to the public.”
Gordon also plans to send letters Friday, Nov. 14, to permit holders with the same request.
An April 25 ruling by Jackson County Circuit Judge G. Philip Arnold touched off the issue. The ruling said that concealed handgun permit information was not always protected under Oregon’s public records law. The judge also said that each person who holds a concealed handgun license for personal security could ask that their information be withheld from the public.
The Medford Mail Tribune newspaper sued Jackson County Sheriff Michael Winters in October 2007, seeking the information after a Medford teacher said she wanted to carry a handgun to school for protection from her former husband.
Arnold’s ruling was appealed and the case is waiting for action by the state Court of Appeals. A second appeal of a decision in the teacher’s lawsuit against the school district has a hearing before the court Dec. 23.
“People can get concealed handgun permits for almost any reason,” said Sgt. Vance Stimler, sheriff’s office spokesman. “If it’s for personal protection, then we believe it can be kept confidential.
“We’re trying to collect that information so we have it if they try to apply the court ruling. We’re basically trying to prepare ourselves in case the rules change a little bit because of the judge’s ruling.”
Stimler said the sheriff’s office plans to rely on an Oregon law that exempts some information from public disclosure for security reasons if requested by each affected person. It’s similar to the law that Winters relied on in his case.
The three-page concealed handgun permit form clearly states that “Oregon law considers this application public information.”
“If you have a restraining order against somebody, or it’s a case of domestic violence, then some people get the licenses for personal protection,” Stimler said. “We think that should be exempt.”
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