State attorney general says ruling marks ‘a big step forward for gun safety in Oregon’
By Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon’s second-highest court affirmed Wednesday that the voter-approved gun control law Measure 114 is constitutional, potentially clearing the way for the law to take effect after being on hold for years because of a Harney County judge’s ruling.
Voters in 2022 narrowly approved Measure 114 to limit sales of some ammunition magazines and require a permit and completed background check before purchasing a gun. Two Harney County residents, joined by national gun rights groups, promptly sued in Harney County, and Judge Robert Raschio blocked the bill from taking effect.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court, led by Presiding Judge Darlene Ortega, found Wednesday that Raschio erred and that the law didn’t violate Oregon’s constitution.
“We conclude that all of Measure 114 is facially constitutional,” Ortega wrote in a 25-page opinion.
Plaintiffs have a little more than a month to challenge the appeals court’s decision, and an appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court is expected.
Measure 114’s backers also prevailed in a federal case filed by an eastern Oregon sheriff, a Keizer gun store owner and a pro-gun group. Judge Karin Immergut ruled last summer that the law didn’t violate the federal Second Amendment because it doesn’t protect large-capacity magazines and Oregon’s restrictions are consistent with a long history of firearm regulation.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, whose justice department defended Measure 114, said it was time to move ahead with “common-sense safety measures.”
“Today’s decision is a big step forward for gun safety in Oregon,” Rayfield continued. “This measure gives us the tools to make sure gun buyers go through background checks and get proper permits, helping to keep firearms out of the wrong hands and making our communities safer.”
Supporters of Measure 114 sought to prevent circumstances that contributed to some of the deadliest mass shootings in recent years, including the 2017 Las Vegas shooting at a country music festival, the 2016 Pulse night club shooting in Orlando, Florida and the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.
Shooters in all three locations had large-capacity magazines, allowing them to keep firing bullets into crowds. The Las Vegas shooter killed 60 people and wounded more than 400 others, the Pulse night club shooter killed 49 people and the Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 people.
In other mass shootings, including the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown Connecticut, and a 2019 synagogue shooting in California, people were able to run or overpower the shooter when he stopped to reload his weapon.
Requiring a completed background check is meant to close the “Charleston loophole,” named after the 2015 incident where a shooter killed nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. In that case, the shooter had a criminal record that would have disqualified him from buying a gun, but his background check was delayed, allowing the purchase.
Lawmakers’ efforts to pass parts of Measure 114 through the Legislature in 2023 contributed to Republicans’ six-week quorum-denying walkout, and Democratic leaders abandoned most gun restrictions as part of negotiations to bring Republicans back and finish the legislative session.
This year, lawmakers are considering House Bill 3075 to provide deadlines, fees and other structure to pre-purchase permit applications if Measure 114 takes effect.
Julia Shumway has reported on government and politics in Iowa and Nebraska, spent time at the Bend Bulletin and most recently was a legislative reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times in Phoenix, Arizona.
