Gun rights advocates secured a victory on Dec. 15 when an Oregon circuit court judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state’s voter-passed restrictions that would require a permit to purchase firearms and institute a ban on “large-capacity” magazines, among other things.
The measure will remain on hold until questions about its constitutionality can be decided, the judge said.
It would require Oregon residents to complete a background check to obtain a permit to purchase a gun, and would prohibit the manufacture, sale, use, and purchase of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and allow a shooter “to keep firing without having to pause to reload.”
The law also states that individuals who already own or are set to inherit such magazines have an “affirmative defense” if they are used “on [the] owner’s property, at shooting ranges/competitions, while hunting consistent with applicable regulations, and during transport to [a] permissible location (if secured separately from firearm).”
‘The Court Cannot Sustain Restraint on a Constitutional Right’
Under current federal law, a background check is required but a gun sale can proceed by default if the background check takes longer than three business days. Residents also do not require a permit to purchase firearms.Attorneys for gun rights groups, including Gun Owners of America Inc., the Gun Owners Foundation, and several individual gun owners, had sought a preliminary injunction to stop the measure from going into law.
Plaintiffs in their lawsuit, which lists Gov. Kate Brown and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum as defendants, argued that the measure violates Oregon’s Constitution, which includes a right to bear arms.
“That the large capacity magazine bans promote public safety is mere speculation,” Raschio wrote in his ruling on Thursday. “The court cannot sustain restraint on a constitutional right on mere speculation that the restriction could promote public safety.”
Raschio’s ruling on Thursday came just days after he extended his order temporarily blocking the permit-to-purchase provision of Measure 114 and another part of the law preventing a gun sale until the results of a background check come back.
Gun rights advocates praised Raschio’s decision.
Ruling Is a ‘Bump in the Road’
In a separate statement, Gun Owners of America Inc. and the Gun Owners Foundation said that the two groups have vowed to fight the measure in court and “are delivering.”“The latest ruling means Oregonians are still able to buy standard capacity magazines and purchase firearms without a permit!” the groups said.
Mark Knutson, chairman of the interfaith Lift Every Voice Oregon campaign and pastor at Portland’s Augustana Lutheran Church, said the ruling was a “bump in the road.”
“It was passed by voters and it’s going to save lives,” he said. “We expect it to be fully implemented. There are bans on large-capacity magazines in 12 states plus [Washington], D.C. already.”
Raschio said Thursday that he will wait until the state informs him that it has a process in place to issue the permits needed to purchase a gun before he holds a hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction against that part of the law.
He also scheduled a hearing for Dec. 23 on the background check provisions in Measure 114.
