The Eugene Gun & Knife Show was held at Lane County Fairgrounds on December 17th and 18th, 2022. (Ian Enger/ Emerald)
Opinion: Measure 114 arose organically through grassroots efforts from Oregonians who understood the calamity of gun violence in America and how that can be prevented. There are efforts to overturn these changes, but Oregon will continue to fight for preventative measures.
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Measure 114 was created and written by Lift Every Voice Oregon, a group of concerned Oregonians who had enough of the growing gun deaths in Oregon and called for common sense gun laws and wanted concrete legislation demanding such. It was one of the most comprehensive preventative packages about gun violence legislation, and Oregonians approved it in the 2022 election cycle.
The measure called for a completed background check before purchasing a firearm, aiming to close the “Charleston loophole” that allowed individuals to buy a gun before their background check was approved. It required a process of fingerprinting to trace guns back to people when used in crimes, “hands-on” safety training, a firearm permit and limits on the sale and transfer of high-capacity magazines.
Immediately after the passage of the measure, its legality was challenged under the Second Amendment of the Constitution with lawsuits on the state and federal levels.
The most challenging part of the measure is the limitation of manufacturing, importing, selling and transferring ammunition magazines that hold more than ten rounds, classifying it as a class A misdemeanor. This was an intentional decision to prevent a pattern seen in mass shootings of rapid firing into crowds, harming and killing large numbers of people.
The federal trials on June 6 had ruled that the measure was constitutional, relying heavily on the language from the Bruen decision, which had created an important legal precedent for large-capacity magazines. Those that hold over ten rounds are not protected under the U.S. Constitution because they do not fit under the classification of “arms.”
On Sept. 23, 2023, the case was presented in Harney County before Circuit Court Judge Robert Raschio, who ruled that the measure was unconstitutional under Oregon’s constitution and couldn’t go into effect in the presented timeline.
An important note about this case is that evidence-based and personal testimony showing changes that Measure 114 would promote public safety, such as reports on the substantial increase in fatalities when large-capacity magazines were used in mass shootings, was ruled inadmissible in the Harney county court even though it was allowed in the federal hearing.
Oregon’s Attorney General, Ellen Rosenblum, says she will appeal the ruling in Harney County.
Diane Peterson, a volunteer group lead for the Eugene Springfields Moms Demand Action, spoke about the importance of implementation of the measure.
“The significance of Measure 114, on a very basic level, is that it will save lives the moment it will go into effect … Oregon will not be the first, but would be a leader in common sense gun legislation,” Peterson said.
Currently, 79% of all gun deaths in Oregon are from suicide, which is significantly higher than the nation’s average of 50%. From the period of 2012 to 2021, gun suicide has increased by 22%, and gun homicide has risen by 135%, compared to the nationwide increase of 19% and 73%, respectively.
There is a racialized history of gun violence in America as well, with percentages of gun violence higher in predominantly Black and Brown communities. Requiring measures such as completed background checks, permits and safety training would significantly decrease the number of suicides.
“There are people who say a person who wants a gun will always get a gun and that is not true,” Peterson said. “The background check system does prevent people who should not have a gun from getting a gun. It will keep people who are in crisis from being able to go out and buy a gun and [also] use it on themselves.”
When asked about the possible striking down of the measure, Peterson remains hopeful that the work done will continue. “That doesn’t stop the movement. The work continues. The people involved with the gun violence prevention movement know that gun violence is preventable.We can’t accept legislative defeat as the end”.
Oregon is currently ranked No. 10 in the nation and classified as “making progress” under Everytown’s gun law prevention legislation database, proving that many of the measures being labeled radical in court have been implemented in other states nationwide. For example, California and New York have implemented a ten-round magazine capacity limit on all firearms.
Cara Chen is the Co-leader of the Lakeridge Students Demand Action chapter and began her organizational leadership journey about gun prevention policies after the March 16 shooting of a primarily Asian spa in Atlanta, and was heavily disheartened by the law enforcement response.
When asked about her thoughts on the journey of Measure 114, Chen stated, “It means people are willing to fight to implement gun reform, and if this gets stalled in court — or worse — if it gets struck down to be unconstitutional, that just shows that the court system and our legal system doesn’t actually value citizens voices and doesn’t actually allow us to reform the system when we want to, and that’s the whole point of a democracy … voters should get the final say.”
Chen ends on a more hopeful call for students, “[Prevention policies] seems very doable. Suicide fatalities from firearms and school shootings per year, [and] how many people get injured by gun violence is very quantifiable, and as young people, we need to latch on something concrete that we can work at it and make progress … I think this is an issue that we can fight for that is really doable.”
Currently, the fight for common sense gun reform continues in every single city in this country, and Oregon has a chance to lead the nation in gun reform. The voters said yes, the state said yes and the courts should also rule in favor of the people.
