Oregon asks state Supreme Court to let gun control Measure 114 take effect
PORTLAND, Ore. — The state of Oregon is asking the state Supreme Court to step in and let Oregon’s new gun control law, Measure 114, finally take effect.
It’s been on hold since December due to legal challenges.
Oregon voters narrowly approved the measure last November.
The attorney general’s office says it is trying to undo the pause Harney County Judge Robert S. Raschio put in place last month. He is concerned the law violates the state Constitution.
The state argued in a court filing Friday that Raschio’s ruling “constituted fundamental legal error and exceeded the court’s discretion,” as well as disregarded case law.
It argued that the state’s highest court should let the law take effect, otherwise the will of people will be denied, and the issue will continue to be unresolved until the case goes to trial. Meanwhile, the people’s efforts to fight gun violence “will be directly thwarted.”
Last week, Raschio upheld a pause on the part of the law that deals with background checks.
The so-called “Charleston Loophole” is where gun sellers can release a firearm to a buyer after three days, even if the background check is incomplete.
The ban on high-capacity magazines is also still on hold, meaning people can still have them.
The Harney County judge says the future of the measure also hinges on whether the court decides the permit-to-purchase program is constitutional.
The permit program requires law enforcement to provide training to gun buyers.
A federal judge has allowed the permitting process to be put on hold, after law enforcement agencies said they were being overwhelmed by the new process.
“The state court issued an injunction that is similar to that on the permitting piece. We are asking the Supreme Court to overturn that state court injunction, but the federal court injunction would remain in place with respect to a requirement for a permit,” said Michael Kron, special counsel in Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s office, in an interview with KATU on Friday afternoon. “So that would still not be taking effect even if the Supreme Court agrees to do what we asked them to do until at least March. Although we have addressed all three parts of the measure in our state court filing, really, the only two pieces that would change are the two pieces where the state injunction is the only injunction, and that is the magazine capacity restrictions and the Charleston Loophole issue.”