A6 BAKER CITY HERALD • SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022
OREGON
Opponents line up against Oregon gun control proposal
BY JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — A mea-
sure requiring a permit, re-
porting of application data
and safety training to buy a
firearm in Oregon is set to ap-
pear on the November ballot.
And gun rights proponents
are taking stances against it.
Measure 114 also would
outlaw magazines holding
more than 10 cartridges.
“First and foremost, I hope
voters will take the time to
educate themselves on the
measure and review it line by
line,” Umatilla County Sheriff
Terry Rowan said. “Measure
110 might not have passed
had people studied it. Propo-
nents sold it as breaking the
cycle of addiction, but didn’t
focus on legalizing the most
dangerous drugs, so that ad-
dicts would no longer be
compelled to seek treatment.
Similarly, Measure 114 advo-
cates focus on stopping gun
violence, but the public re-
ally needs to evaluate its lan-
guage.”
The proposition, titled
“Changes to Gun Ownership
and Purchase Requirements
Initiative,” is one of the strict-
est gun control measures ever
proposed in the nation, ac-
cording to opponents.
“(Measure 114) will virtu-
ally end the sale of firearms
in (the state),” Oregon Fire-
arms Federation Executive
Director Kevin Starrett said
on July 26. “Where do you
suppose all the smaller towns
who rely on private gun clubs
for training are going to go
for the live fire portion of the
class? How often will they
provide it? What costs will
be created? How do those in-
creased costs and barriers af-
fect Black folks in inner-city
Portland?”
Measure 114 would re-
quire a permit to obtain any
firearm, and it would outlaw
magazines capable of holding
more than 10 rounds. If the
measure passes, it would ban
some commonly used pump
shotguns because their ca-
pacity can exceed that limit.
Further, Oregon State Police
would be required to maintain
a searchable public database of
all permit applications.
Rowan also said he was con-
vinced the measure is a direct
violation of the U.S. Constitu-
tion’s Second Amendment.
“It could take a couple of
years before the Supreme
Court hears a challenge,”
Rowan noted. “While wait-
ing, Oregonians would be de-
prived of their right to self-de-
fense. In the meantime, those
with ill intentions are still go-
ing to get a gun, ignoring the
provisions for background
checks and safety training.”
The $65 fee associated with
the measure won’t cover even
half of the cost of implement-
ing it, Rowan said. The Ore-
gon State Sheriffs’ Association
estimated the first year cost
at $40 million. The OSSA op-
poses the measure, and the
Oregon Association Chiefs
of Police might join them, he
commented.
“If a citizen of Pendleton
needs a gun for self-defense,
who is going to provide the
services required by the mea-
sure?” Rowan asked. “City
police forces lack the time,
money and staff. The un-
funded, mandated safe han-
dling and storage instruction
is an attempt to stall people in
purchasing a firearm.”
Rowan said he prefers ap-
plying stricter penalties on
and enforcement of firearms
laws already on the books.
“Again, it’s all in how the
picture is painted,” he con-
cluded. “If it’s pitched as stop-
ping gun violence, then voters
might buy into it. Opponents
must emphasize education
on the measure’s impact.
High-capacity magazines are
common for legitimate pur-
poses. I hope voters don’t re-
peat the errors of Measure
110, but will realize what else
is in it.”
The initiative does not es-
timate the cost or analyze its
impact on small local police
departments.
The Oregon State Sheriffs’
Association estimated even
if a person could somehow
complete the required train-
ing, the permitting process
could cost sheriffs almost $40
million annually. But nothing
in the measure provides any
funding, and the fees included
would not come close to cov-
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Clay Winton, owner of Crosshair Customs in Baker City, chats with customers March 11, 2018, at the Pend-
leton Gun Show. The passage of Measure 114 on the November ballot in Oregon would make obtaining a
gun more difficult and outlaw magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
ering the costs.
“Numerous police depart-
ments and sheriff’s offices
have agreed that complying
with this measure will either
be exorbitantly expensive
or impossible,” Starrett said.
“None have said they will be
offering the training required
to apply for the permit to pur-
chase, which sheriffs and local
police will be tasked with ad-
ministering.”
Mass shootings boost
initiative drive
In early May, the almost
all-volunteer Initiative Peti-
tion 17 to get the proposals on
the ballot had gathered less
than a third of the required
signatures, Oregon Public
Broadcasting reported. But
that changed dramatically af-
ter shootings in Buffalo, New
York, and Uvalde, Texas.
Volunteers and donations
poured in, and the number of
signatures ballooned, accord-
ing to OPB. By late June, orga-
nizers said they had collected
sufficient signatures to get the
measure on the ballot. Yet they
continued the effort to ensure
there were enough, in case the
Oregon Secretary of State dis-
qualified some. State officials
check and validate every sig-
nature.
The initiative would close
the so-called Charleston loop-
hole by requiring people to
pass a background check be-
fore buying a gun, The Orego-
nian reported in May.
Under current federal law,
firearms dealers can sell guns
without a completed back-
ground check if it takes longer
than three business days, mea-
sure proponents said. That’s
how the gunman in the 2015
Charleston African Methodist
Episcopal Church mass shoot-
ing bought the Glock 41 .45
cal. pistol with which he killed
nine parishioners.
Critics contend measure
threatens legal gun owners
The measure would enact a
law requiring a permit issued
by a local law enforcement
agency to purchase any fire-
arm. Applicants would have
to pay a fee, be fingerprinted,
complete safety training, and
pass a criminal background
check.
In addition, the applicant
must complete a hands-on
demonstration of basic fire-
arms handling to qualify.
“In order to obtain the
permit, an applicant would
have to show up with a fire-
arm to demonstrate the abil-
ity to load, fire, unload, and
store the firearm,” William-
son, a Salem trial attorney
specializing in gun law, said.
“But you can’t get a firearm
without the permit. And un-
der Oregon’s highly restric-
tive gun storage laws, no one
can legally loan a firearm to
another. That creates an im-
passable barrier.”
H.K. Kahng of Portland
served on five-person com-
mittee to write the measure
500-word explanatory state-
ment to appear in the voters’
guide this fall. Kahng, an en-
gineer and National Rifle As-
sociation firearms instructor,
said the permit and training
programs create an unfunded
mandate with no enforcement
measures.
“The measure calls upon
the Oregon State Police to
come up with these (permit-
ting and training) programs,
but there’s no consequence if
they don’t, and there’s no time
frame for coming up with
them,” Kahng said during the
committee’s July 26 meeting.
Williamson also expressed
concerns the permit system
grants the Oregon State Police
“unfettered authority” to in-
quire into all manner of per-
sonal information of the appli-
cant and to deny the applicant
the permit for any reason or
for simply failing to cooperate.
“No information is off lim-
its,” he claimed. “The intro-
duction of highly subjective
criteria in (the measure) al-
lows the government signifi-
cant authority to intrude into
the private lives of law-abiding
citizens wishing to exercise
their protected rights under
the Second Amendment.”
Opponents also argue that
language describing the maga-
zine ban creates confusion.
The measure allows “reg-
istered owners” of magazines
that hold more than 10 rounds
to retain them so long as they
were purchased before the
ban.
“But how do you prove
when you purchased a mag-
azine?” Williamson asked.
“There is no magazine ‘regis-
tration.’ They don’t have serial
numbers. There’s no way for
the average person to prove
they had it before the law was
passed. That means citizens
must prove their innocence.”
Lawfully owned magazines
that exceed 10 rounds may
not be used for self-defense
outside the home. Under the
measure, possession would be
restricted to the owner’s prop-
erty, at a gunsmith, on a pri-
vate shooting range or during
a firearms competition.
“The minute you leave the
house, that 15-round mag-
azine is now illegal, and you
could be arrested and charged
with a misdemeanor for each
magazine in your possession
because you’re not in your
home or at a gun range,” Wil-
liamson explained. “And you
could be charged multiple
times for the same magazines
since magazines do not con-
tain identifying markings.”
“So that could make an
otherwise legal gun-owner a
criminal overnight,” Kahng
commented.
Text us
your tire photo
541-519-8878
Old, young, rich, poor.
Born here, just got here.
we will text
back with a quote
for new tires!
Our calling is you.
Schedule online, anytime.
Lew Brothers Tire Service
541-523-3679
210 Bridge St. Baker City, OR