Measure 114

As legal challenges to a voter-approved gun control law continue, Oregon lawmakers are considering a set of additional restrictions on gun purchases that are among the most controversial measures of the legislative session.

Ballot Measure 114 bans the purchase of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. It also requires a permit for anybody purchasing a firearm, but won’t go into effect immediately.

Measure 114 bans future purchases of magazines that can carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and require permits. It’s been on hold pending court challenges.

State lawyers say they will appeal. A federal judge has ruled the measure legal under the U.S. Constitution.

A six-day trial over the constitutionality of recently approved Oregon gun laws ended Monday after lawyers for the state Department of Justice ended three days of tense testimony.

Harney County Circuit Court Judge Robert Raschio is presiding over a six-day trial to determine if the Oregon Constitution allows the state to ban high capacity magazines and require a completed background check and permit to purchase a firearm.

In a 122-page written order issued late Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut found banning large capacity magazines and requiring a permit to purchase a firearm are in keeping with “the nation’s history and tradition of regulating uniquely dangerous features of weapons and firearms to protect public safety.”

Measure 114 was approved by Oregon voters in November on a very slim margin — but the stricter gun laws have been held up by legal challenges. The trial that begins Monday is a critical step for both backers and opponents of the measure.

The Oregon Supreme Court has denied a petition to overturn a lower court ruling blocking the state’s new gun laws from taking effect. Ballot Measure 114’s provisions remain blocked in their entirety pending a lower court hearing on the measure’s constitutionality.

If granted, the petition would allow the voter-approved magazine ban and completed background check requirement to go into immediate effect.

After taking more than a week to deliberate, circuit court judge Robert Raschio ruled Tuesday that the state cannot implement the additional background check requirement. Ballot Measure 114, which would create stricter gun laws in Oregon, is now blocked by state courts in its entirety pending a full trial.

An Oregon circuit court judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state’s voter-passed restrictions on firearm sales and magazine capacities from taking effect.