By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A Circuit Court judge in Harney County, Oregon granted a temporary restraining order against implementation of Measure 114, the restrictive gun control initiative that narrowly passed Nov. 8, according to KATU News.
As a result, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum Wednesday was looking to the state Supreme Court for help.
Judge Robert Raschio ruled in favor of plaintiffs in a state-level challenge of the measure only hours after U.S. District Court Judge Karin J. Immergut had denied a similar request in a federal lawsuit filed by the Oregon Firearms Federation. Judge Immergut did place the permit-to-purchase requirement on hold for 30 days to allow the state police time to set up the process, but the ban on so-called “large capacity” magazines would have been allowed to take effect on Thursday. That is, until Judge Raschio issued the TRO.
All parties in at least four federal challenges of Measure 114 seemed to agree this is just “round one” in what may be a protracted court fight over provisions in the new law.
At the federal level, the Second Amendment Foundation is involved in two challenges, one aimed at the permit requirement and the other at the magazine prohibition.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is also challenging the law, in a case involving Mazama Sporting Goods and the Oregon State Shooting Association. OSSA is an affiliate of the National Rifle Association, so NFRA is supporting this case.
Then there is the Oregon Firearms Federation, joined by three county sheriffs. It was specifically the OFF lawsuit which Judge Immergut ruled on Tuesday prior to Judge Raschio’s decision in a state case brought by Gun Owners of America. Harney County is in southeast Oregon, and Burns is the county seat.
Judge Raschio scheduled a Dec. 13 hearing on the request for a preliminary injunction, delaying the Dec. 8 implementation date for the entire measure.
According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, Judge Raschio said in his ruling that if Measure 114 were allowed to take effect, it would violate the rights of Beaver State residents under the Oregon State Constitution. The Oregon constitution’s right to bear arms provision is straightforward: “The people shall have the right to bear arms for the defence (sic) of themselves, and the State, but the Military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil power.”
Implementation of Measure 114 would leave Oregon citizens “unable to lawfully purchase a firearm or bear a magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition in the State of Oregon,” Judge Raschio said, later adding, “Deprivation of fundamental constitutional rights for any period constitutes irreparable harm.”
