UPDATED: The fight over Oregon Ballot Measure 114 is just beginning to heat up, as data from the Secretary of State’s office in Salem indicated gun prohibitionists at Lift Every Voice Oregon are raising more money than the Stop 114 Committee, but it is still two months until the Nov. 8 election.
Ballot Measure 114, previously known as Initiative Petition 17 (IP17) is described as an extremist measure and “clearly unconstitutional” by opponents, most notably the Oregon Firearms Federation (OFF). Proponents reportedly spent more than $125,000 to get the initiative on the fall ballot, according to data from Ballotpedia, and it appears to be the only firearms-related ballot measure anywhere in the U.S.
OFF leader Kevin Starrett told Liberty Park Press the biggest problem his organization is facing is public lack of knowledge about what is contained in the measure.
Background checks are required to get a permit which allows a person to request another background check, Starrett explained. While the measure doesn’t ban so-called “assault style weapons,” he said, it does ban almost all semi-auto and pump shotguns that have tubular magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds. Starrett said it is possible to insert that many of the short 2 1/2-inch shotgun shells that are now available, which creates the problem.
“Obviously,” Starrett said via telephone, “the biggest issue is making people aware of it.”
The veteran Beaver State gun rights activist said he has “spoken to people all over the state—sheriffs and police—and they didn’t know about it.”
Ballot Measure 114 is supported by several religious and liberal organizations including the League of Women Voters Oregon, the Oregon Chapter of the American College of Physicians, American Federation of Teachers-Oregon, Doctors of America-Oregon chapter, Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety, Ceasefire Oregon, Portland Gray Panthers and the Oregon Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Lining up so far against the measure are OFF and the National Rifle Association, and Gun Owners of America has alerted its members living in the state.
According to the Stop 114 Committee, Ballot Measure 114 “will virtually eliminate your ability to defend yourself and your family.”
At its website, the Committee reports, “The Oregon State Sheriff’s Association has estimated that if a person somehow could complete the required training, the permitting process would cost sheriffs almost $40,000,000.00 annually. There is nothing in the measure that provides any funding and the fees included would not come close to covering the costs. The estimate of costs to local police is $51.2 million dollars the first year and 47.5 million in subsequent years. The ‘anticipated revenue’ is only $19.5 million dollars. The sponsors of the measure have no plan to pay for it.”
A press release from Lift Every Voice Oregon considers all of the initiative’s requirements as “common sense safety measures.”
Between now and Election Day, Starrett and other activists will be working to educate Oregon voters about what is in the measure, and how much it might cost to implement the training requirements.
