Why we’re denying quorum in Oregon’s Senate

We are regularly attacked by the majority Democrats for “threatening democracy” by denying quorum. The opposite is true.

Without the first walkout in Oregon’s history in 1897, we may not have the initiative and referendum process we do today — one of the most direct and democratic aspects of our state Constitution. At the time, legislators denied quorum, refusing to come back until a constitutional amendment to create Oregon’s initiative and referendum process was put forward to the people.

Walkouts are revolutionary; they give minority parties a voice, and without the first walkout, these unions would not have had the chance to file a ballot initiative to begin with.

In response to our protests, Democrats and labor unions pushed Measure 113, which changed the Oregon Constitution so that senators with 10 or more “unexcused” absences are ineligible to run for reelection. Absence designations are made by the arbitrary whim of the Senate president, a Democrat. There is no due process or accountability.

Measure 113 was passed last November to scare us away from denying quorum, but it has backfired. We work for Oregonians, not the government. And we will continue to go to the state Capitol to focus on the work that matters most, rather than engaging in the partisan issues that divide us.

Our decision to deny quorum now is the result of two immoral bills pushed by Democrats.

The first, House Bill 2002, would allow a child of any age to be able to have an abortion without parental knowledge. It would also allow minors to have irreversible sex-change treatments and procedures without their parent’s knowledge. The second, House Bill 2395, would create government-sanctioned secrecy between parents and their children, thereby driving a wedge between the family unit by removing parental consent for children to have substance abuse treatment and mental health services, when parents should be informed of all medical and health services their children need.

Oregon is already an “abortion tourism” state that grants access to the tragic procedure through all nine months of pregnancy at the expense of the taxpayers. But House Bill 2002 would go a step further and change Oregon’s current abortion laws to remove any requirement for healthcare providers to notify parents if a minor has an abortion.

Democrats claim this is an expansion of Oregonians’ “rights,” but what it would really do is open up young girls and women to additional harm. Whoever gets an underage girl pregnant needs to be in jail. Instead, these criminals would be able to coach young women and girls about how to get an abortion, destroying the evidence of wrongdoing.

Democrats in power are willing to put the full force of government behind this controversial concept, prioritizing their special interests over the well-being of Oregon families.

They want to make Oregon a “transgender tourism” state, too. House Bill 2002 would give protections to doctors who perform sex-change surgeries in other states, in violation of their state laws, and allows them to “seek refuge” here so they will not lose their medical license, even though they may have lost it in another state. Oregonians and insurance companies will be paying for this.

This legislation is another assault on parental rights. It removes parental consent for children to have substance abuse treatment and mental health services, when parents should be informed of all medical and health services their children need. The state is not a parent or guardian and is incapable of replacing the love and consideration of one.

Republicans are standing up for Oregon families by denying quorum and halting the legislative process temporarily. We are on strike against Democrats’ radical efforts to move the state further Left.

Oregon seems to be written off in the nation’s collective consciousness as an unbalanced state, but Oregonians are still Americans, and the government has no place stepping in between parents and children in any American family. And we are doing something about it.

Daniel Bonham and Kim Thatcher are state senators for Oregon and serve as deputy Republican leaders. Thatcher was the 2020 GOP nominee for Secretary of State.