Gun Groups Succeed In Temporarily Blocking Implementation Of Anti-2A Measure In Deep Blue State

The Pro-Second Amendment community has achieved a groundbreaking and crucial victory in the deep-blue state of Oregon.

There's been a breakthrough in the community's resistance to Oregon Ballot Measure 114 – which passed narrowly in last month's midterm elections.

The ballot measure contained three provisions to curb Oregonians' gun rights.

These are a “permit to purchase” or transfer a firearm, the creation of a public database of issued permits, and finally a ban on ammunition magazines of over 10 rounds.

The measure was passed by voters last month on November 8th, and the gun-grabbing bureaucrats in deep-blue Oregon sought to implement it within 30 days which would have made it effective tomorrow – December 8th.

Gun groups including the National Rifle Association (NRA), Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the Oregon State Shooting Association, and the Oregon Firearms Federation have filed a flurry of federal lawsuits attempting to block the implementation of the measure.

A lawsuit filed last Thursday – backed by the NRA and the NSSF – successfully pushed back the implementation of the measure over the “permit to purchase” provision it contained.

In their filing, the groups focused on the current lack of infrastructure to carry out such permitting processes.

Per an NRA-ILA media release issued Monday:

Declarations were submitted by the Oregon State Sheriff's Association and the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police informing the court that the state's local law enforcement agencies, who are now “permit agents” under Measure 114, are not prepared to issue permits on the state's rushed timeline. The declarations also informed the court that Measure 114's newly required training course, which is a prerequisite to getting a permit, does not exist, so nobody could get a permit even if a permitting system was in place.

Even deep-blue Oregon decided that a temporary ban on gun sales would be unconstitutional – granting the temporary restraining order against the ballot measure that was sought by gun rights groups.

Adam Kraut – the Second Amendment Foundation's recently appointed Executive Director – notes that Ballot Measure 114 “sets specific mandates but provides no way to comply with those mandates. In essence, the measure effectively creates an outright ban on firearms purchases, which violates the Second Amendment.”

Separate from ongoing federal lawsuits, a Judge in Harney County “granted a temporary restraining order against all provisions of Oregon's gun control Measure 114,” yesterday evening, as reported by Oregon Live.

Overall, Ballot Measure 114 seeks to make purchasing a firearm in Oregon much harder than it already is.

The State of Oregon has previously shared data from its Firearms Instant Check System (FICS) showing that in 2020 alone, over 20% of permits in the state took longer than 180 days to be issued. That is double the 90-day wait period in Washington, DC – which is often referenced as one of the most stringent processes in the country.

Oregon consequently is one of the places where the “defund the police” movement is most active – one of its birthplaces. Yet with the problems currently plaguing law enforcement agencies from coast to coast, cops from New York to Oregon are tasked with being the gatekeepers to a constitutional right.

Legislatures pass laws, but due to the structure of the American political system that contains checks and balances, those that write the laws are not tasked with enforcing them.

In this day and age, law enforcement departments across the country are overworked, underfunded, and vilified by both the mainstream media and politicians asking them to do more while denying resources to do it.

As noted by Breitbart's AWR Hawkins, “some individuals in law enforcement are concerned that the process for issuing the permits could destroy office budgets and/or tie up needed personnel.”

That was the crux of the argument made by enforcement groups in the NRA and NSSF-backed case.

The NRA's aforementioned media release from Monday also noted the following:

“Late on Sunday night, after defending Measure 114's rushed implementation, the state changed its mind. In a letter to the court, the state said that it “agrees that the Court should enter an order providing a limited window in which Oregonians will be able to purchase firearms even if they do not have a permit, while also allowing Oregonians to apply for and be issued permits.” It was those declarations submitted in the NRA-ILA backed lawsuit that made the state come around.

It's unfortunate that the state had to learn about these deficiencies from the local law enforcement communities through this litigation, instead of consulting with them beforehand.”

Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) stated the following in a press release issued last week:

“The right to keep and bear arms begins with the ability of law-abiding citizens to be able to obtain a firearm through a lawful purchase at a firearm retailer. Oregon has created an impossible-to-navigate labyrinth that will achieve nothing except to deny Second Amendment rights to its citizens. The measure is an affront to civil liberties which belong to People, not to the state to grant on impossible and subjective criteria.”

The temporary restraining order granted this week is just a pause – attacking one of three key elements of the measure. A federal judge ruled yesterday that the ban on the sale and transfer of large-capacity magazines (those with over 10 rounds) will still be allowed to proceed.

Groups including the NRA, NSSF, and Second Amendment Foundation are still engaged in ongoing litigation.