Harney County Judge Extends Suspension Of Oregon's Firearms Law

By Ben Botkin, Oregon Capital Chronicle

December 15, 2022

A Harney County Circuit Court judge on Tuesday extended a restraining order on a gun control law to prevent Measure 114 from taking effect until the state has a permitting system in place.

Judge Robert Raschio’s temporary restraining order keeps the state from enforcing Measure 114, which will require purchasers to undergo training from a law enforcement-certified instructor to obtain a firearm permit. State and law enforcement officials have asked for more time to put a system in place that meets the law’s requirements, which include applicants participating in live demonstrations of firearms.

Other parts of the temporary restraining order stay in place for at least another 10 days. A Dec. 23 hearing is set to determine the scope of the judge’s order, including whether the state can close a loophole that currently allows firearm sales to go through if background checks aren’t completed within three business days.

Separately, the judge said he’ll decide by Friday whether to block the measure’s provision that prevents the sale of high-capacity firearm magazines with more than 10 rounds.

The requirements of Measure 114 have attracted widespread criticism from firearms owners and dealers and several rural sheriffs who say it’s enforceable and will eat into limited law enforcement resources.

Raschio’s temporary restraining order, enacted a week ago, is part of a lawsuit filed by Gun Owners of America, based in Virginia, and a related organization, the Gun Owners Foundation along with Joseph Arnold and Cliff Asmussen, two Harney County firearms owners. Gun Owners of America says on its website it has more than 2 million members and lobbies for firearms owners to exercise the “right to keep and bear arms without compromise.”

State officials have asked for the permit system to be postponed until February, with other requirements of the measure starting on time. Raschio will have a separate hearing on that issue once state officials determine the system is ready.

A federal court is handling a separate suit against Measure 114. In a ruling on that case last week, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut said Oregon can postpone the permit requirements for 30 days after the state asked for a postponement. But Immergut ruled that other parts of the measure, including the ban on sales of high-capacity magazines with more than 10 rounds, can go into effect on Thursday as scheduled.

The Harney County judge’s order took precedence over the federal order, though. The Oregon Supreme Court declined to intervene at the request of the Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and the Oregon Department of Justice.

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