Fahey Goes to School

Oregon Speaker of the House Julie Fahey visited the Eugene School District 4J office Dec. 18 to outline housing and behavioral health goals for the 2025 legislative session alongside other state legislators and school board members — and listen to the concerns of local students about gun violence.

“There are a lot of challenges that our state faces, and we can’t take our eye off the ball of [making] progress on housing, on homelessness, on behavioral health, on education,” Fahey said at the 200 North Monroe Street office.

“That is a big body of work that we’ll take on this year,” continued Fahey, who represents West Eugene, Bethel and Veneta. However, two themes hung over the room: gun violence and the incoming federal administration.

Oregon legislators have passed background checks for all gun transfers and mandated safe gun storage, but Fahey says the state now needs to focus on gun safety education and enforcement of the gun laws already in place.

Max Pike, a senior at Early College & Career Options, an alternative education option for 4J high schoolers, attended the meeting. He agreed with Fahey. “Students should have the option to be equipped with that knowledge,” he said.

“Lots of students don’t even know in-depth how easy it is to access a gun, how easily someone in their high school could have a gun. Gun violence is this looming fear that people don’t really know about, and I think that’s a big disservice to all students,” he said.

Fahey says to not expect much movement on gun laws at the federal level. “Gun violence prevention is a state level issue,” she said after the meeting.

The 2025 legislative session opens Jan. 13, 2025, at the Oregon state Capitol in Salem.

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