When election day 2022 comes in November, Oregon citizens will vote on Initiative 114. Billed as a background-check initiative, I-114 does far more than mandate universal background checks. For the foreseeable future, it creates a de facto ban on all firearms sales.
The initiative mandates that a non-existent permit-for-purchase system takes effect within 30 days of passage, a requirement of that system is that an applicant must complete a live-fire firearm safety training exercise with a law enforcement certified instructor. The system, training and certification requires local law enforcement to develop, implement, staff and enforce the system. Additionally, Initiative 114 requires background checks between private parties, a ban on magazines or firearms holding more than 10 rounds and the publication of an annual registry of applicants with personal identifying information be made available to the public.
“After months of rioting, the Portland city council defunded the police to the tune of $15 million and eliminated 84 positions. Now, with rampant violent crime, homelessness and drug use, gun-control advocates want to further victimize law-abiding citizens even more by making it impossible for them to purchase a firearm,” said Todd Adkins, vice president of government affairs at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “Initiative 114 saddles underfunded, understaffed local law enforcement departments with creating and maintaining a complex and expensive system before any firearm can be bought for any reason – handgun, hunting rifle or shotgun, it doesn’t matter.”
In addition to the permit-for-purchase system, the initiative’s requirement of a training course offered by instructors certified by law enforcement creates another layer of prohibition as most of the current firearm safety courses offered in the state do not meet the standard and many sheriffs have publicly stated they will not offer such training.
“The result of just these two elements will make it impossible to purchase a firearm because it won’t be possible to implement a non-existent permitting system and certify trainers within 30 days of passage. Small rural law enforcement departments won’t be able to afford to create, maintain and staff these systems while large urban departments that are still understaffed will be overwhelmed with requests,” continued Adkins. “And that’s not counting the liberal timelines of response and layers of bureaucracy required by this imaginary system.”
The publication of applicants for the purchase permit includes, but is not limited to, applicant’s legal name, current address, telephone number, date and place of birth, physical description, fingerprints, pictures and any additional information determined necessary by law enforcement.
Measure 114 also bans standard capacity magazines that exceed 10 rounds, and the fee for the permit to purchase is yet unknown, but the cost of implementation is estimated to exceed $50 million in unfunded mandates to local governments.
“Portland is the posterchild for the real problems urban areas nationwide are facing when it comes to violent crime and homelessness today,” said Adkins. “This is not the time to restrict the civil rights of individuals who have already been victimized by the defunding of their police departments and the city’s policies that have allowed lawlessness to flourish.”
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
