Oregon's Legislature is considering a bill that experts say would create the nation’s most comprehensive law against paramilitary activity
FILE - Law enforcement officers and protesters clash outside the Oregon State Capitol during a special session of the state legislature in Salem, Ore., on Dec. 21, 2020. Over the past decade, Oregon experienced the sixth-highest number of extremist incidents in the nation, despite being 27th in population, according to an Oregon Secretary of State report.
All 50 states prohibit private paramilitary organizations and/or paramilitary activity, but no other law creates civil remedies, said Mary McCord, an expert on terrorism and domestic extremism who helped craft the bill. The Oregon bill is also unique because it would allow people injured by private, unauthorized paramilitary activity to sue, she said.The bill’s sponsor, Rep.
The pioneering measure raises a host of issues, which lawmakers tried to parse in a House Judiciary Committee hearing last week: “This particular bill is not directed at individuals open-carrying. This is directed at armed, coordinated paramilitary activity,” added McCord, executive director of Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, whose jurisdiction encompasses Portland, testified in favor of the bill, expressing frustration that police often can't single out violent actors lurking among peaceful protesters. The tactic of enabling private residents to file lawsuits against paramilitary groups may be a novel one, but it has been used in other arenas.
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