After his big win in Nebraska, Robert Kennedy’s campaign moved on to Oregon for a May 28 primary. The Beaver State was fallow ground for the New York Senator since the electorate largely consisted of middle class and upper middle class white voters. That demographic favored Senator Eugene McCarthy. In the previous primaries in Indiana and Nebraska, Kennedy had done well with blue collar workers, farmers and African-American voters. Oregon was going to be an uphill climb for Kennedy.
On the day before the primary, Kennedy campaigned in southern Oregon, where hunting was very popular. Kennedy’s aides advised him that gun rights was the most important issue in that part of the state and that many of the voters did not agree with his strong stand on gun safety.
A gun control act had been introduced in Congress in response to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The bill banned the mail order sales of rifles and shotguns, and banned most felons, drug users and people found mentally incompetent from purchasing firearms. The legislation had been held up by conservatives for four years.
When Kennedy and his retinue arrived in Roseburg, they saw numerous signs that said: “Protect Your Right to Keep and Bear Arms.” At his campaign events, Kennedy would frequently ask the members of the audience questions in an effort to push out his own message. He also liked to invite people who disagreed with him to ask him questions.
Kennedy asked the crowd if anyone would like to explain why they opposed the pending gun control act. A man who owned a small, local business and who was a prominent gun rights activist approached Kennedy.
“Is there anything in this bill which says you can’t have firearms?” Kennedy asked him. The man answered no but then added: “ We think it’s a backdoor bill for registration of guns and it will let the Secretary of the Treasury keep a registry of all firearms sales.”
Kennedy took back the microphone and in an emotional and even angry response said: “ If we’re going to talk about this legislation, can’t we do it honestly and not say it does something that it doesn’t do? All this legislation does is keep guns from criminals and the mentally ill and those too young. With all the violence and murder and killings in the United States I think you will agree that we must keep firearms from those who have no business with guns or rifles.”
The crowd did not agree with Kennedy’s response. One man booed and yelled: “ They’ll get them anyway.” Someone else shouted: “Nazi Germany started with the registration of guns.”
“Well I don’t think the registration of cars and the registration of drug prescriptions destroyed democracy. And I don’t think the the registration of guns will either.” Kennedy retorted.
The candidate left the event shaking his head. The cool reception he received in Roseburg was the harbinger of his defeat the next day. He lost the Oregon primary to Eugene McCarthy by a margin of 44 to 38 percent on May 28, 1968. It was the first loss for any of the Kennedy brothers after twenty-seven consecutive electoral victories.
Robert Kennedy rebounded from that loss to defeat McCarthy in California and South Dakota on June 4. On that evening, Kennedy and his staff were already planning ahead for the crucial New York primary on June 18. He was well on his way to winning the Democratic nomination and the presidency.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 only gained momentum in the Congress after the tragic assassination of Robert Kennedy. President Lyndon Johnson signed it into law on October 22, 1968. Nobody was required to register their guns and nobody’s guns were ever confiscated.
Sources.
Halberstam, David. The Unfinished Odyssey of Robert Kennedy. New York: Random House. 1968. Pages 185–186.
Tymchuk, Kerry, “When Oregon Mattered,” Oregon Historical Society, May 26, 2020.