B A L L O T M E AS U R E
Strict Gun Control on Oregon Ballot
Includes permits, 10-round magazine restrictions, and publicly available owner database By Scottie Barnes Protesters with firearms at a rally at the Oregon Capitol in Salem on Sept. 7, 2020.
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f Oregon voters approve a pending ballot measure, the state would have the strictest gun laws in the nation—which opponents claim would virtually end the legal sale of firearms in the state. The Reduction of Gun Violence Act (Measure 114) would require a permit to obtain any type of firearm. Magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds would be outlawed. Commonly used pump shotguns would be banned. And state police would be required to maintain an electronically searchable, publicly available database of all permit applications. Backers of the measure, including a coalition of faith-based leaders and Ceasefire Oregon, say the new restrictions 16 E P O C H I N S I G H T Week 44, 2022
would help prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands, as well as reduce gun homicides, suicides, and trafficking. The ballot measure is currently polling at 51 percent. But opponents say the measure is poorly written, and the explanatory language in the voters’ pamphlet is misleading. They argue that the measure would create a bureaucratic nightmare that would only impact law-abiding gun owners, be impossible to comply with, violate the Second Amendment, and put an onerous burden on law enforcement. Although the pamphlet states that the “financial impact is ‘indeterminate,’” opponents claim that it would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. “The main problem with the ‘Reduc-
tion of Gun Violence Act’ is it doesn’t address violent crime,” Aoibheann Cline, National Rifle Association of Oregon state director wrote. “That’s because it ignores criminals who break the law and instead penalizes law-abiding citizens. “The law fails to mandate sentences for gun-related criminals or put an end to the soft-on-crime policies that have made many Oregon cities into nightmares.” The Oregon State Sheriff’s Association (OSSA) cites the burden that the measure would place on financially-strapped law enforcement agencies. The measure would enact a law that requires a permit issued by a local law enforcement agency in order to purchase any type of firearm. Applicants would have to pay a fee, be fingerprint-
