There is a new Measure that will be going on the Ballot here in Oregon in November. The bill was originally proposed as a ballot initiative titled IP 17. This is the second or third radical fringe group of leftist clergymen to have ran a campaign similar to IP 17. This time they were successful in gathering 162,000 signatures of the 112,000 required to place the measure on the ballot. Measure 114 is being promoted as the most progressive gun control law ever proposed in the country and coming out of Oregon, that is really saying something. This bill is one of the worst pieces of legislation proposed ever in this state and it was written by some that know nothing about firearms. Ignorance isn’t an excuse for bad legislation, though. I was part of the public testimony about the confusing information that will be a part of the voters pamphlet. In part of the testimony, the chief counsel for the group Lift Every Voice Oregon, the charlatans behind this measure, admitted that they are terrified of firearms. My question is why demonize half of the residents of Oregon because you are a hoplophobe? A hoplophobe, is a person that has an irrational fear of firearm. There could be a few environmental reasons that a person could live like this. It could have been a tragedy that happened to them, lack of education, or no proper exposure to firearms. As an instructor I do feel for them, this is no way to live your life. Our guns are more relevant than they have ever been. Violent crime, substance abuse, and lack of prosecution from radical DA’s and lack of funding has created a perfect storm. This storm is a category 5 hurricane bearing down on law abiding citizens. What’s their solution? Restrict your magazine capacity and require you to have a permit to BUY a firearm in the state of Oregon!
In my many hours of studying what’s in this 12 page monstrosity of a bill, I tried to understand how this could be a benefit to our state. Unfortunately I haven’t found one positive because it only applies to law abiding citizens in fact there is not one single criminal penalty for an actual criminal. In a time where responsible gun owners are under attack because of the lawlessness that we are facing on our streets. We have a drug crisis and an homelessness epidemic which has increased violent crimes. Mostly due to lack of enforcement because most Law Enforcement agencies in Oregon are understaffed, not to mention DA’s aren’t even prosecuting most petty crimes. This has created a problems for all of us. What isn’t being talked about how measure 114 is inherently racist and sexist in nature!! What do I mean by that? Well, gun control disproportionately effects persons of color or women at a higher rate than it would someone like me, a white male. If Measure 114 goes into effect a mother, that has a domestic violence situation at home, would be prevented from buying a gun to protect herself and her family unless she has a permit to purchase. Even though she would pass a background check and has never committed a crime. This puts her life in danger. This would be the same for POC that live in urban environments, like Portland that have turned into a war zone. Without a permit, they are on their own and no one is coming to save them. It is truly sad and unacceptable. The authors of this bill know that it’s flawed, they know it will not stop violent crimes. They are hell bent on doing something, even if it hurts their neighbors.
While I do think their hearts are in the right place, their lack of knowledge on the subject is criminal. For one thing there is no way any part of this measure is constitutional. It will be challenged almost immediately by multiple 2A rights groups. It is a big waste of our state’s resources and it is estimated to cost the state an average of $50 million annually to implement and operate. Another horrible part to this how it restricts our magazine capacity. If Measure 114 is implemented it will be a Class A misdemeanor for us to possess a magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds. In most states there is a grandfather clause, in this case there is no such case. It means if you are caught after the passage of this bill. You will be charged with a crime. No warning, no don’t do this again. You will be charged. A few of these misdemeanors and it will eventually lead to a felony. There is also no carve outs for Law Enforcement or our military when off of duty. They will be required to swap out their mags for 10 rounders when they clock out. They think somehow that when off of duty our LEO’s will be out