This one has potential.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/99/12/st121613.html
Janitor fired for bringing gun to school sues district
The Milwaukie man says officials in the North Clackamas system violated his civil rights and usurped the state's authority
Thursday, December 16, 1999
By Noelle Crombie of The Oregonian staff
A janitor fired from the North Clackamas school system for bringing a semiautomatic handgun to work is suing the district, saying that his civil rights were violated and that only the state has the power to regulate the possession of handguns.
Greg S. King of Milwaukie was fired in September after a locked backpack containing a loaded handgun was found by an employee in an elevator at Mount Scott Elementary School, where King worked as a night custodian.
King, who holds a permit to carry a concealed weapon, was fired for violating a 1997 district order that he not bring a firearm to work, said Larry Anderson, the district's director of personnel services.
King's attorney, Michael Farnell, said that as a night custodian, King at times armed himself for his own protection.
King had been threatened by people using the building, and his car had been broken into, Farnell said.
District officials said that King did not report the threats or the break-in to the school.
King could not be reached for comment.
The case is being watched closely by educators as well as gun rights proponents because it could test a 1995 state law that gives the state authority to regulate possession of concealed handguns.
The outcome could have broad implications for the ability of Oregon school districts to control whether their employees with gun permits can take weapons to work, said Jim Green, an attorney and senior legislative advocate at the Oregon School Boards Association.
"This case will be one of those cases that will set the tone for what districts can do to protect their buildings, their students and their staff," he said.
Oregon law prohibits the possession of firearms in public buildings, including schools. But state law allows adults to carry guns in schools as long as they have a concealed weapon permit.
Oregon Gun Owners, a gun advocacy group that represents 10,000 gun owners, gave King advice and referred him to Hagen, Dye, Hirschy & DiLorenzo, a Portland law firm that has lobbied for the gun group. Farnell, a lawyer with the firm, filed the lawsuit in Clackamas County Circuit Court on King's behalf.
Deputy Attorney General David Schuman said the lawsuit could answer the question of whether government employers can regulate the possession of handguns by employees. He said his agency's opinion is that state law permits government employers to adopt policies regarding handgun possession at work.
"I think this case presents a good opportunity to clarify a complicated and murky area of the law," Schuman said.
Oregon Gun Owners hopes the case affirms the state's sole authority to regulate gun possession. The group wants to prevent local governments, including school districts, from adopting their own gun-control measures.
School districts in Portland, Eugene, Gresham and Corvallis are among a small but growing number of school systems in Oregon with policies banning all weapons in schools, including those carried by people with gun permits.
"It has the potential to completely gut the intent of the (concealed-weapons) law, which is to allow citizens to carry (firearms) who have been licensed by the state," said John Hellen, administrator for Oregon Gun Owners. "We are not talking about random Joe Blow here. We are talking about people who have paid their fees, gone through training."
Warning letter
King had worked as a night custodian in North Clackamas since 1987 and had been at Mount Scott Elementary since 1991. In November 1997, after hearing reports that King had a gun during his shift, district officials sent him a letter ordering him not to bring a gun to work, Anderson said.
Before school on Sept. 14, an employee at Mount Scott Elementary discovered a locked backpack in an elevator. Dean Long, the school's principal, called the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department, because the bag was heavy and seemed suspicious, Anderson said.
Inside, police found a loaded 10 mm Glock handgun, ammunition, five knives and survival gear, including a first aid kit and blanket. King later told police the items were given to him by a friend who had gone hunting, said Capt. Don Vicars, who heads the sheriff's civil division.
After learning about the incident, Vicars suspended King's gun permit until he could talk with him.
King later explained to Vicars that the weapons had been returned before work by a friend who had been hunting. He said he did not want to keep the weapons in his car while he worked.
"He convinced me he was not an evil person," Vicars said Wednesday. "That is why I returned his concealed-handgun license to him. He made a mistake."
Because King was fired for having a weapon on school grounds, the district also barred him from coming onto district property without permission from Superintendent Ron Naso, Anderson said. King, according to a letter sent to him on Sept. 15, is allowed on school grounds only for reasons pertaining to his children, who attend district schools.
King's lawsuit seeks unrestricted access to his children at school, reconsideration of his firing and back pay.
Zero tolerance
North Clackamas does not have a policy expressly prohibiting employees licensed to carry handguns from taking them to work, Anderson said. But the district has a zero-tolerance policy banning students from carrying weapons to school.
"We have zero tolerance for employees just as we would for students," Anderson said. "It's ludicrous for somebody to believe that a concealed-weapon permit would allow them to bring a weapon into a public building with children there, and it's left unattended."
Farnell could not say how frequently King brought his handgun to work.
Farnell said King is sensitive to the district's concerns about having guns in school. But students were not in the building during King's shift, which was from 2:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., he said.
Regardless of whether banning concealed weapons in school is good policy, it is not one the district has the authority to impose, Farnell said.
"If the school district wants to change that, it needs to do that at the state Legislature and not by firing Mr. King," he said.
You can reach Noelle Crombie at 503-294-5927 or by e-mail at noellecrombie@news.oregonian.com.
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The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/99/12/st121613.html
Janitor fired for bringing gun to school sues district
The Milwaukie man says officials in the North Clackamas system violated his civil rights and usurped the state's authority
Thursday, December 16, 1999
By Noelle Crombie of The Oregonian staff
A janitor fired from the North Clackamas school system for bringing a semiautomatic handgun to work is suing the district, saying that his civil rights were violated and that only the state has the power to regulate the possession of handguns.
Greg S. King of Milwaukie was fired in September after a locked backpack containing a loaded handgun was found by an employee in an elevator at Mount Scott Elementary School, where King worked as a night custodian.
King, who holds a permit to carry a concealed weapon, was fired for violating a 1997 district order that he not bring a firearm to work, said Larry Anderson, the district's director of personnel services.
King's attorney, Michael Farnell, said that as a night custodian, King at times armed himself for his own protection.
King had been threatened by people using the building, and his car had been broken into, Farnell said.
District officials said that King did not report the threats or the break-in to the school.
King could not be reached for comment.
The case is being watched closely by educators as well as gun rights proponents because it could test a 1995 state law that gives the state authority to regulate possession of concealed handguns.
The outcome could have broad implications for the ability of Oregon school districts to control whether their employees with gun permits can take weapons to work, said Jim Green, an attorney and senior legislative advocate at the Oregon School Boards Association.
"This case will be one of those cases that will set the tone for what districts can do to protect their buildings, their students and their staff," he said.
Oregon law prohibits the possession of firearms in public buildings, including schools. But state law allows adults to carry guns in schools as long as they have a concealed weapon permit.
Oregon Gun Owners, a gun advocacy group that represents 10,000 gun owners, gave King advice and referred him to Hagen, Dye, Hirschy & DiLorenzo, a Portland law firm that has lobbied for the gun group. Farnell, a lawyer with the firm, filed the lawsuit in Clackamas County Circuit Court on King's behalf.
Deputy Attorney General David Schuman said the lawsuit could answer the question of whether government employers can regulate the possession of handguns by employees. He said his agency's opinion is that state law permits government employers to adopt policies regarding handgun possession at work.
"I think this case presents a good opportunity to clarify a complicated and murky area of the law," Schuman said.
Oregon Gun Owners hopes the case affirms the state's sole authority to regulate gun possession. The group wants to prevent local governments, including school districts, from adopting their own gun-control measures.
School districts in Portland, Eugene, Gresham and Corvallis are among a small but growing number of school systems in Oregon with policies banning all weapons in schools, including those carried by people with gun permits.
"It has the potential to completely gut the intent of the (concealed-weapons) law, which is to allow citizens to carry (firearms) who have been licensed by the state," said John Hellen, administrator for Oregon Gun Owners. "We are not talking about random Joe Blow here. We are talking about people who have paid their fees, gone through training."
Warning letter
King had worked as a night custodian in North Clackamas since 1987 and had been at Mount Scott Elementary since 1991. In November 1997, after hearing reports that King had a gun during his shift, district officials sent him a letter ordering him not to bring a gun to work, Anderson said.
Before school on Sept. 14, an employee at Mount Scott Elementary discovered a locked backpack in an elevator. Dean Long, the school's principal, called the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department, because the bag was heavy and seemed suspicious, Anderson said.
Inside, police found a loaded 10 mm Glock handgun, ammunition, five knives and survival gear, including a first aid kit and blanket. King later told police the items were given to him by a friend who had gone hunting, said Capt. Don Vicars, who heads the sheriff's civil division.
After learning about the incident, Vicars suspended King's gun permit until he could talk with him.
King later explained to Vicars that the weapons had been returned before work by a friend who had been hunting. He said he did not want to keep the weapons in his car while he worked.
"He convinced me he was not an evil person," Vicars said Wednesday. "That is why I returned his concealed-handgun license to him. He made a mistake."
Because King was fired for having a weapon on school grounds, the district also barred him from coming onto district property without permission from Superintendent Ron Naso, Anderson said. King, according to a letter sent to him on Sept. 15, is allowed on school grounds only for reasons pertaining to his children, who attend district schools.
King's lawsuit seeks unrestricted access to his children at school, reconsideration of his firing and back pay.
Zero tolerance
North Clackamas does not have a policy expressly prohibiting employees licensed to carry handguns from taking them to work, Anderson said. But the district has a zero-tolerance policy banning students from carrying weapons to school.
"We have zero tolerance for employees just as we would for students," Anderson said. "It's ludicrous for somebody to believe that a concealed-weapon permit would allow them to bring a weapon into a public building with children there, and it's left unattended."
Farnell could not say how frequently King brought his handgun to work.
Farnell said King is sensitive to the district's concerns about having guns in school. But students were not in the building during King's shift, which was from 2:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., he said.
Regardless of whether banning concealed weapons in school is good policy, it is not one the district has the authority to impose, Farnell said.
"If the school district wants to change that, it needs to do that at the state Legislature and not by firing Mr. King," he said.
You can reach Noelle Crombie at 503-294-5927 or by e-mail at noellecrombie@news.oregonian.com.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.