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A prayer before showdown By Damian Mann of the Mail Tribune Jul 11, 2019 03:11 PM A A Hostility between Democrats and Republicans that boiled over during the Oregon legislative session may soon spill into the courts. Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, sent Senate President Peter Courtney a $3,500 check for what he called “illegal fines” as a prelude to a court fight over a walkout staged by Senate Republicans in June to derail bills they didn’t have the votes to stop. He said his absence was part of his elected responsibility to 130,000 people in his district, and “the enclosed payment allows me to seek remedy in state and federal court to resolve this matter.” Boquist, who created an uproar after he threatened to shoot Oregon state troopers who might track him down during the walkout, told Courtney in a July 3 letter that they both go to the same Catholic church, and that they should both ask for forgiveness for their sins. “I have enclosed a Mass response and prayer card to remind us both of the penitential act we both recite weekly. ‘I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.’” As a reprimand from the Senate for his shooting threat, Boquist is required to give 12 hours notice before he enters the Capitol. Two days after Boquist's threat, he received an anonymous letters at his home and Senate office threatening him and his family. "Violence is never, ever the answer," Courtney said in a statement at the time. "We urge anyone who has not felt safe in the Capitol to report it through the available channels immediately. There is a process. Threats will be investigated. We want all members, staff, volunteers and visitors to feel safe, so we urge people to use the system designed to protect them.” Senate Minority Leader Herman Baertschiger, R-Grants Pass, said he won’t pay the fine and says the walkout is protected by the Constitution as free speech. He also plans to take the issue to court. “We perceive it as a protest, covered under the First Amendment,” said Baertschiger, who said he has his own lawyers working on the case. While Baertschiger is pursuing a different legal avenue, he said he supports Boquist’s decision to pay the “illegal fine” as part of his legal strategy. The fine was levied after a motion was made by Sen. Ginny Burdick June 20. Baertschiger said the Oregon Constitution requires two-thirds of the Senate members present to create a quorum, otherwise the Senate can’t vote on anything. His reading of the Constitution is that the two-thirds requirement is a safeguard so that the minority party can block proceedings. Republicans staged the walkout in protest of House Bill 2020, the cap-and-trade legislation that prompted marches outside the capitol. He said the fine was levied when the Senate didn’t have a quorum and shouldn’t have been conducting business. Local Democratic legislators say the Senate Republicans’ actions should have consequences. “I don’t think anybody should walk out of their duties as part of their constitutional responsibilities,” said Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland. Because of the Republican walkout at the end of the session, more than 100 bills were voted on in the last two days with little to no discussion about them, she said. “That’s not really the way we want government to work,” Marsh said. Rep. Kim Wallan, R-Medford, tends to agree with Baertschiger’s views on the walkout. “Anytime you have a special quorum rule, there is something behind that, and our Constitution has a special quorum requirement,” she said. She said there are other instances where walkouts are staged without facing fines. “The idea of walking off the job is striking at the heart of the union movement,” Wallan said. She said she also questions the legal authority the Senate has to fine the Republican senators. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm. Sen. Brian Boquist outside his office in the Capitol during the legislative session. AP Photo/Andrew Selsky