Tina Kotek Called for a Forum on Gun Violence Prevention Last Week, Johnson and Drazan Haven’t Responded
[Portland, Oregon] – Last week, the Tina for Oregon campaign challenged Republican candidate Christine Drazan and conservative candidate Betsy Johnson to agree to an issue-specific forum on gun violence prevention policy. To date, neither Johnson nor Drazan has responded to Kotek’s proposal.
In the aftermath of 19 children dying at an elementary school in Texas and 10 people dying at a grocery store in New York, former Republican Leader Christine Drazan has repeatedly dodged press inquiries around gun violence prevention.
Meanwhile, former Senator Betsy Johnson has unsuccessfully attempted to walk back her substantial record of voting against, and obstructing the passage of, common-sense policies to prevent gun violence, in addition to numerous occasions in which Johnson has made callous comments about gun violence.
In response to Johnson and Drazan dodging calls to participate in a forum on this critical topic, Katie Wertheimer, Communications Director for Tina for Oregon, issued the following statement:
“Senator Johnson and Representative Drazan have both voted against common-sense measures to make our communities safer and get guns out of dangerous hands, earning both of them a perfect rating from the National Rifle Association.
“We have two candidates for governor who have proven to voters that they would rather side with the gun lobby than take real action to save lives. Their votes against common-sense policies are deeply out of touch with Oregon voters, and their silence is deafening now as they refuse to even talk about preventing gun violence in our communities. In the face of senseless violence like we saw in Uvalde, voters are looking for leadership.”