Measure 114, Oregon’s new voter-approved gun control measure, will not go into effect Thursday, according to the state attorney general. It comes following a pair of judicial rulings that went opposite directions on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut ruled Tuesday morning that the plaintiffs who filed an emergency motion to block the measure failed to meet their burden of proof. But while she allowed the magazine size limits and background checks provisions to take effect, she called for a 30-day stay on the Permit-to-Purchase feature.
But three hours later, a Harney County judge temporarily enjoined the measure — blocking it. In a series of tweets, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said it means, as of now, Measure 114 won’t begin on Thursday.
“What’s next? We will petition to the Oregon Supreme Court ASAP, seeking to align the result in our state courts with the federal court’s well-reasoned and thoughtful decision,” Rosenblum tweeted.
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Central Oregon Daily News has reached out to the Oregon Attorney General’s Office for more explanation.
Measure 114, which narrowly passed in the midterms, requires a permit, criminal background check, fingerprinting and hands-on training course for new firearms buyers and bans high-capacity gun magazines.
Multiple gun rights groups, local sheriffs and gun store owners have sued, saying it violates Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms.
In her conclusion Tuesday that initially allowed the measure to go forward, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut wrote “Plaintiffs have failed at this stage to carry their burden of showing likelihood of success on the merits and irreparable harm absent a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order). Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ Motion for a TRO … is DENIED with respect to Measure 114’s restrictions on large-capacity magazines. Plaintiff’s Motion is DENIED with respect to a facial challenge to Measure 114’s permitting provision. However, in light of the difficulty the State has conceded in terms of implementation of the permitting provisions at this stage, implementation of those permitting provisions is stayed for thirty days.”
The judge has ordered parties to confer and report back regarding any other requests for postponement.
The Oregon Department of Justice on Sunday asked the judge to delay the Permit-to-Purchase requirement for two months to ensure it could be implemented. The Oregon Association of Police Chiefs said Monday that the infrastructure and resources don’t yet exist to make the permitting system happen and said it supported the motion to put that permit system on hold.
