SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Amid a spate of threats of attacks at schools following a Feb. 14 massacre in a Florida high school, a lawmaker in Oregon has introduced an amendment making it a felony to make such a threat in the state, even if it’s not carried out.
Sen. Tim Knopp, a Republican from the Central Oregon town of Bend where a 16-year-old was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly threatening to shoot students at a high school, introduced the amendment Monday.
Knopp said Oregon’s district attorneys are constrained by current law that allows misdemeanor charges and that fails to take into account the unique nature of threats against schools and other public gathering places.