Oregon’s gun-control ballot initiative has put it at the center of the fight over guns in America. As the political battle ended with victory for Measure 114 and the deadline to implement a non-existent permit-to-purchase system closed in, a new front opened in the courts.
Sam Paredes, a Gun Owners of America (GOA) board member and treasurer of the Gun Owners Foundation, was on the frontline of that legal battle. While multiple federal suits were unable to secure a Temporary Restraining Order against the law, GOA was able to convince a state judge the measure violated the Oregon Constitution’s protections for the right to keep and bear arms. That decision has held thus far, despite an attempt by the state to get the Oregon Supreme Court to throw it out.
Paredes joined the show this week to talk about where things stand now, and what’s coming down the line. He said gun sales in Oregon will go on as usual for the time being, and the ban on magazines that hold more than ten rounds won’t go into effect. But the fight isn’t over as the state scrambles to create the permitting process and take the biggest practical issues with Measure 114 off the table.
However, Paredes said GOA is encouraged by the Oregon Supreme Court’s decision not to immediately intervene in the case. He said they may be hesitant to overturn the lower court’s pro-gun ruling in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. He argued they may not want to run afoul of Bruen and be overturned themselves.
But the federal judge overseeing challenges to Measure 114 disagreed. She ruled the permit-to-purchase requirement and magazine ban likely don’t violate the Second Amendment even under Bruen‘s text and tradition standard. Paredes said that judge did the analysis wrong. He argued the targeted magazines are in common use and protected, given SCOTUS’s rulings in Heller and Caetano, and the permit-to-purchase law has no historical analogue.
Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the surprising shift in the U.S. Senate’s balance of power this week.
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7 Responses
While I have read what the GOA;s State Court challenge had accomplished, your interview clearly shed a lot more light on the issue in Oregon.and the GOA itself. Great job.
Thanks! I always try to have on people who can speak directly to whatever issue we’re covering.
I should *really* know better than to post this here, but I’m a long time Oregon gun owner and—here we go—a Democrat. Before I’m attacked, let me explain. I take my gun ownership and responsibility very seriously. Many would then ask why I’m not Republican. The answer is really simple; 2A is not my only concern. When I see prominent republicans attack abortion, LBGCTQ+ and BIPOC people, endorse antisemitism and demonize any thing else they don’t agree with I am REPULSED.
It’s an extremely unfortunate balancing act that some of us are forced to deal with, but the bottom line is that so many people treat inherently nuanced issues as black and white issue. I don’t buy into that.
I very much appreciate your coverage of our 114 problem here in OR, just don’t assume that only Republicans are on your side.
I would certainly hope nobody in our membership would attack you over your political affiliation. Everyone is welcome here. Disagreement is perfectly acceptable, but I’m looking to foster a welcoming community where people are respectful to one another. That includes in moments where they don’t see eye to eye.
I very much appreciate that sentiment. I only wish it held true for other firearms forums I frequent.
You definitely put Sam Paredes on the spot about the challenge to Measure 114’s new permit-to-purchase scheme. The Kavanaugh/Roberts concurrence in Bruen explicitly condones shall-issue permits for public carry. And I think most judges will be inclined to extend this reasoning to all firearms-related permits, including those solely for purchase.
Measure 114 does allows permits to be denied if the “permit agent concludes that the applicant has been or is reasonably likely to be a danger to self or others, or to the community at large, as a result of the applicant’s mental or psychological state or as demonstrated by the applicant’s past pattern of behavior involving unlawful violence or threats of unlawful violence.” Since this provision clearly involves the exercise of discretion, it seems ripe for challenge.
But probably the best way to get rid of Measure 114 will be the same way with which it was adopted: a citizen initiative.
Yea, permit-to-purchase laws seem like ones that may stand up to scrutiny under Bruen. Not because there is a good historical analogue for them, but because SCOTUS has implied most shall-issue permitting is acceptable. Although, that same concurrence did say as applied challenges for laws that effectively make it very difficult to get a permit are acceptable too.