Gun control bill OK'd by Oregon; 1st since Florida shooting

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Fueled by anguished voices in the aftermath of the Florida high-school shooting, Oregon's Legislature today banned people convicted of stalking and domestic violence or under restraining orders from buying or owning firearms and ammunition.

The passage of the bill by the state Senate on a 16-13 vote appears to mark the first time a state legislature has passed a gun-control measure since the Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Fla., said Anne S. Teigen, a criminal justice expert with the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. The measure was introduced before the Florida slayings.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown had lobbied for the bill, telling a Senate committee this week to hear the anguished voices rising in the aftermath of the Florida attack in which 17 people were killed. The Democratic governor said she intends to sign into law the measure that the House earlier approved to protect victims of domestic violence.

Passage of the bill comes as the nation heatedly debates gun control in the wake of the Florida shooting

A group led by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a 2011 shooting that left her with a brain injury, applauded the Legislature's passing of the so-called boyfriend loophole bill.