US

Oregon Judge Refuses To Let Restrictive Gun Control Law Take Effect

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A recently passed Oregon gun law will not take effect Thursday, following a high court ruling by Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters, who denied Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s request to remove a hold on the law, according to The Associated Press.

The law, Ballot Measure 114, was subject to multiple lawsuits following its passing in November, and Rosenblum’s request sought to overturn a lower court’s ruling by Harney County Judge Robert Raschio, which placed a hold on the law’s implementation Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. The ballot measure is considered one of the strictest gun regulations in the country, and if implemented, will require background checks, firearm training, fingerprint collection and a permit to purchase any firearm.

“Magazine capacity restrictions and permitting requirements have a proven track record: they save lives!” Rosenblum said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “We are confident the Oregon Constitution — like the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution — allows these reasonable regulations.”

After Oregon voters passed the ballot measure by slim margins during the midterm elections, several lawsuits were filed claiming the measure was unconstitutional. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, Oregon State Shooting Association, Mazama Sporting Good, Oregon Firearms Federation, Sherman County Sheriff’s Department, Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition all filed the suits, saying the measure infringes on Second Amendment rights.

“The deficiencies in this ballot measure cannot go unaddressed. Forget that it is scheduled to go into effect before Oregon even certifies the election, but it requires potential gun owners to take a class that has yet to be created, at a cost yet to be determined, so that they can obtain a permit that doesn’t actually give them permission to purchase a firearm,” NRA Oregon state director Aoibheann Cline previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Rosenblum, who is named in all three lawsuits, argued that pausing the measure will lead to unnecessary deaths.

When the measure was first passed, attempted gun purchases in Oregon skyrocketed, with background checks jumping from 850 per day to 4,000 per day. Oregon state police reported more than 18,000 transactions during election week, resulting in a backlog.