Initiative Petition 17 -- now ballot measure 114 -- recently approved to appear on the ballot in November, has been described as “the most extreme” gun control measure in the country. While the media has portrayed the measure simply about “large capacity magazines” and “permits to purchase” it, in fact, goes much further than that. The Chief Petitioners are Walter John Knutson, III, Michael Z. Cahana, and Marilyn Keller.

Before a person can get a “permit” to purchase -- not carry, or bear -- a firearm they will be required to take a class from police, or someone approved by police. Firearms instructors who teach concealed handgun license classes will not be eligible. In addition to gun safety, the class must include instruction on storage and transportation, state and federal laws, and the impacts of homicide and suicide.

Furthermore, the class must include live fire. There are very few facilities in Oregon for live fire training and most of them are private organizations not open to the public. The measure does not require that these classes be made available by law enforcement and has no provision for funding them. There are no caps on the fees that may be charged for the classes should anyone actually provide them.

After a person completes the required class -- and there are no exceptions for police or even firearms dealers -- they may then apply to the local police or sheriff for a permit to purchase.

Once the application has been made, the Oregon State Police must conduct a background check on the applicant. There is no time limit on how long the OSP can take to complete the check. Current wait times for gun purchase background checks have exceeded two years for some applicants.

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If the background check clears the applicant, the sheriff or chief of police has 30 days to issue or deny a permit to purchase. The State Police and the local police may conduct any investigation they want to on the applicant. There are no limits to what they can ask or demand personal information on. That would include your social media accounts, information on your friends and family or your financial records.

If, after 30 days, you are approved, the permit does NOT allow you to buy a firearm. It just allows you to submit to a second background check from the Oregon State Police, which, once again, can take as long as the police choose to take. These background checks can take literarily forever. The fee for the permit is $65.00 and it must be renewed every 5 years.

The measure also calls for a public database of anyone attempting to get a permit which can include any personal information such as home address and phone number.

The measure also bans most firearms ammunition magazines. Any magazine over 10 rounds (the most common modern magazines) will be banned from future sales. Any that are already owned will be restricted to your home or trips to approved places like shooting ranges. The magazines cannot be loaded and must be transported locked up. You will not be allowed to transfer any existing magazines except upon your death.

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The magazine ban will effectively ban most sporting shotguns since their tubular magazines are capable of holding more than ten rounds of certain shotgun shells.

Sheriffs around the state have reported that they have neither the manpower nor facilities to provide the required training. Currently no local police departments have any kind of process for providing the required permits. The Oregon State Sheriff’s Association has estimated the first year costs of the program will be 40 million dollars with subsequent years costing nearly as much. The sponsors of the measure have stated that they have no plans for determine where the funds to administer the program will come from.

A Colorado judge recently issued a temporary restraining order against a magazine ban in Boulder County.


--Emil Sanders

Post Date: 2022-07-26 11:37:52

Last Update: 2022-07-26 20:57:41