Oregon Legislators Compromise Over Gender, Abortion, Ghost Guns, and Fentanyl

The Oregon State Capitol building in Salem, Ore., circa 1960. (Harvey Meston/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

After the longest walkout in state history, a last-minute compromise allowed Oregon lawmakers to return to work on June 15 with just 10 days left in the legislative session.

The parties had reached an impasse over Democrat-backed bills related to gun control, abortion, and gender-transition services. Because Oregon’s legislative rules require a two-thirds quorum to conduct business, the session ground to a halt when the six week walkout by most Republicans and two Independent members of the Oregon Senate began May 3.

As the minority party, Republicans said the walkout was the only way to force the majority to compromise on bills they saw as extreme.

When work resumed, lawmakers worked overtime to work through a backlog of bills and negotiate on those that were most controversial.

Gender Care, Abortion, and Parental Rights

As originally written, House Bill 2002 aimed to dramatically expand access and public funding for abortion and gender-transition services in Oregon.

The bill would have allowed a minor of any age to get an abortion and those older than 15 to undergo gender transition—such as hormone blockers that suppress naturally occurring testosterone or estrogen—all without parental consent or notification.

Republicans called these provisions an affront to parental rights.

They agreed to return to the Capitol only after Democrats compromised by striking the waiver of parental notification and permission. That requirement can be overridden if health care providers conclude informing parents would be harmful to the child.

As enacted, HB 2002’s gender-transition component will now require Oregon’s Medicaid program and private insurers to cover procedures such as electrolysis, facial feminization surgery, tracheal shaves, and any other treatments prescribed by a doctor as necessary gender-affirming treatment.

Such procedures were previously considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance.

The measure protects abortion providers from certain legal repercussions, including for treating patients who traveled from anti-abortion states.

“People knew that when Republicans chose to walk out over this, because of their objections related to abortion, that to get them back into the building there would have to be some changes,” said Democratic Rep. Travis Nelson, who sponsored the bill. “But by and large we kept the things that were important to us and my constituents seem to be happy about the way that things went with 2002.”

Democrats also agreed to kill Senate Joint Resolution 33, which would have asked voters to enshrine protections for abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender-affirming care in the state Constitution.

The party could still pass a ballot referral next year in time for the 2024 election.

Oregon has long been at the forefront of such gender-related issues.

In 2017, it became the first state in the nation to offer more than two gender options on identity documents, including driver’s licenses, making it the first to legally recognize non-binary, intersex, and agender people on ID cards.

The Oregon Health Plan has covered gender-affirming services since 2015

The state does so at a time when more than a dozen states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming services for minors, and nearly two dozen more are considering similar bills.

Banning Ghost Guns

Democrats also made significant concessions on the session’s major gun control bills.

Under House Bill 2005, Oregon will join 11 other states in banning “ghost guns.” These three-dimensional printed firearms are assembled at home and can be easily purchased online. They do not contain a printed serial number.

The original bill would also have made it illegal for those under 21 to purchase certain guns and allowed local governments to ban concealed carry in some places.

"Ghost guns" seized in federal law enforcement actions are displayed at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) field office in Glendale, Calif., on April 18, 2022. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Democrats scrapped those two provisions.

They also agreed to kill Senate Bill 348 and several other gun bills that would have codified provisions of Measure 114, a gun control law approved by voters last year, into law.

That measure would ban the manufacture and sale of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds and require anyone who wishes to obtain a firearm to get a permit first. Permits will require taking a safety course, demonstrating competency with a firearm, paying fees, and completing a federal background check.

The measure has yet to be enacted pending litigation. Opponents feared that the legislature would short circuit that legal process.

Oregon’s Drug Problem

Lawmakers passed two bills that tweak Measure 110, the drug decriminalization measure passed by voters in 2020.

That voter-approved measure decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs—including heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl—and redirected cannabis taxes to fund drug treatment programs. But the state has struggled to stand up the promised drug treatment programs and many consider the measure a failure.

The state now has among the highest rates of substance abuse in the nation, and drug addiction and overdoses are soaring as cheap fentanyl floods the market.

According to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), the number of fatal and unintentional overdoses involving fentanyl in Oregon more than doubled from 2021 to 2022. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.

Mock sizing of a potentially lethal dose of Fentanyl, on April 1, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Today, nearly two-thirds of Oregonians support bringing back criminal penalties for drug possession, according to an April 2023 survey by DHM Research.

Again, the parties were at odds, with Democrats declining to consider sweeping changes and Republicans insisting that the state return criminal consequences to drug possession.

In the end, legislators gave OHA more power to fund drug treatment services around the state and made it a Class A misdemeanor to possess more than a gram—or five or more “user units”—of a substance containing fentanyl.

The change is designed to levy criminal consequences for small-time drug dealers.

“This legislation provides a critical tool to law enforcement to keep our communities safe,” said Republican Rep. Jeff Helfrich, one of the bill’s chief sponsors and a retired Portland Police Bureau sergeant. “While I believe we must have real conversations surrounding Measure 110 reform, this bill allows us to start fighting this epidemic and will get fentanyl off our streets,”

Weighing the Costs

Oregon’s 2023 legislative session concluded June 25, but the impact could reverberate into the next election cycle.

“Senate Republicans were finally able to give the nearly two million Oregonians we represent a voice in the Senate and a seat at the table,” Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp said in a statement. “We protected the rights of parents and law-abiding gun owners, restored the rule of law, and forced good-faith bipartisanship to get good things done.”

But at least 10 Republicans could pay a price for standing their ground.

Under a measure approved by voters in 2022, lawmakers with unexcused absences are barred from running for reelection. Republicans have signaled they plan to challenge the measure in court.