Senate Bill 243 Signing Remarks

November 18, 2025

Hello. Good afternoon. Thank you for being here.

Today, we’re not just signing a bill. We’re saving lives. 

The Community Safety Firearms Act is now law in Oregon, and that matters. It matters to every parent dropping their kid off at school. It matters to every person who just wants to feel safe in their own neighborhood. It matters because gun violence is preventable. And we’re proving it. 

You all know that the data backs us up. But data alone doesn’t make change. People do. The people in this room do. You showed up. You testified. You organized. You don’t let up when the fight gets hard. You double down and get results. 

You refuse to accept that gun violence is inevitable in Oregon. 

Because of your persistence, Oregon is safer and more free. 

Here’s what the Community Safety Firearms Act does: 

It bans rapid-fire devices. These are bump stocks and other accessories designed for one purpose: to turn rifles and handguns into weapons of mass casualty. These are tools of war. They don’t belong in neighborhoods or our schools or frankly anywhere in our communities 

It strengthens protections in public spaces by making clear where firearms can and cannot be carried. This is common sense, accountability, and transparency in action. 

Signing this bill was the right call. It wasn’t even close. 

Thank you to legislative leadership for seeing this bill as a priority, even in our divided times.  To Chairs Prozanski and Kropf, Senators Broadman, Sollman, and Reynolds; Representatives Finger-McDonald, Grayber, and Fragala – thank you for your leadership and your refusal to back down. 

To Moms Demand Action, Everytown for Gun Safety, and every advocate who worked this bill – your fierce advocacy inspires me. 

To all those of you here today carrying the weight of lived experience with gun violence: you don’t owe us your stories, but you share them anyway. You turn pain into purpose. That’s courage. That’s power. It changes the world. 

I won’t sugar coat it – this fight to end gun violence can feel endless. Progress feels too slow. But sharing this space with you today fills me with hope. 

This is the best antidote to fear. We do not defeat fear by ignoring it. We defeat it by standing together, demanding better, and never giving up. 

That’s what today is about. 

Thank you.