The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed its second lawsuit in federal court challenging tenets of Measure 114, the Oregon gun control package narrowly approved by voters in November.
This is the fourth federal challenge to the gun control measure, which mandates training and the acquisition of a purchase permit by any individual hoping to buy a firearm in Oregon. SAF earlier filed a lawsuit challenging the measure’s ban on the future sale, manufacture, importation and possession of so-called “large capacity” magazines after Dec. 8, when the law is scheduled to take effect.
Joining SAF in this case are the Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc., Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc. (FPC), Daniel Azzopardi, a private citizen. They are represented by attorneys James Buchal of Portland, Adam Kraut of SAF and William Sack of the FPC. Named as defendants are Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and Oregon State Police Supt. Terri Davie, in their official capacities.
There is also an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
SAF’s new lawsuit focuses on Measure 114’s restrictive permitting and training requirements with no current mechanism to procure a permit. To obtain the purchase permit, an individual must be fingerprinted, photographed, submit to a background check and provide any “additional information determined necessary by state police rules.” They must also complete an approved firearm safety course, which includes a demonstration of the applicant’s ability to safely handle, fire and store a firearm. Course instructors must be certified by a law enforcement agency.
“We filed this lawsuit separately from our earlier action because the permitting process constitutes an egregious affront to the Second Amendment,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “There is no permit system in place, no guidance on who might qualify as a certified instructor and no forms on which applications may be made or permits may be granted, and no rules to carry Measure 114 into effect.”
“This measure created a requirement for a permit,” Kraut, who is also SAF’s executive director noted, “but didn’t create a system to get the permit. It 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.”
