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Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, would defend that point of view. "It's flawed logic," he says, "to think that if you're a hunter or a person who has applied for a concealed carry permit to defend yourself or your loved ones, that somehow you would not be a good parent or foster parent."
But Steven Green, a law professor and director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Law and Democracy at Willamette University, disputes the notion that DHS gun rules represent an unconstitutional requirement.
"There's no right to be a foster parent," he says. "People understand there may be certain conditions imposed on them that may affect a wide degree of their rights."
Still, Green suggests, the Second Amendment generates highly emotional debate, and there has been little guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court.
"People need to take a breath," he says.
Oregon doesn't have data showing how many of the 7,700 children living in the state's 5,309 state-certified foster homes have been injured or endangered by a foster parent's gun. The decision to tweak Oregon's rules wasn't prompted by any particular incident, says Kevin George, DHS foster care program manager.
"It really was just an issue of looking out for the safety of kids," George says.
Most states have rules regulating guns in foster homes. Until now, Oregon was among 27 states with specific gun-safety requirements, according to the National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning at New York's Hunter College.
Although only a few foster parents objected to the state's gun rules, Rep. Jerry Krummel heard enough to declare that the rules violated state law, federal law and "the Second Amendment rights of Oregonians."
Armed with a legal opinion supporting his position, the Wilsonville Republican in April called on the DHS to rescind its rules immediately.
The agency sought an opinion from the attorney general.
Krummel was right: Only the Legislature has legal authority to regulate firearms, the AG said.
As a result, the DHS was forced to pull back. It is soliciting public comment this summer on a revised set of safety rules that tell foster parents they must safely store medications, have an adequate number of smoke alarms, and supervise children around swimming pools.
It doesn't mention guns -- and won't until the agency figures out what to do next.
Caseworkers still have authority to make sure foster homes are safe, and if they see guns in reach of children, they have the legitimate right to talk to foster parents about it, George says.
At Krummel's suggestion, the DHS is assembling a work group that includes differing perspectives to decide Oregon's policy regarding guns in foster homes. Its recommendations probably will be considered by the 2009 Legislature.
