A Circuit Court judge in Harney County, Oregon has granted a preliminary injunction in the ongoing challenge of Measure 114 by Gun Owners of America, the Gun Owners Foundation and two private citizens.
The injunction specifically targets the magazine ban portion of the measure until a full trial can be held. This could put off the imposition of the ban for weeks, if not months.
The order came from Circuit Judge Robert Raschio two days after a lengthy hearing on the GOA lawsuit. This is a state-level legal action in a cause that has already garnered at least four federal lawsuits, including two by the Second Amendment Foundation, one by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and one more by the Oregon Firearms Federation (OFF).
OFF founder and president Kevin Starrett told TGM via telephone he expects all four of the federal suits to be consolidated at some point.
In his order, Judge Raschio also said the court will retain an existing temporary restraining order on the enforcement of a permit-to-purchase requirement in the measure. No agency has a permit system in existence, and until that happens, the judge is preventing the state from enforcing it.
Measure 114 passed on a narrow margin last month, and was quickly challenged by gun rights organizations.
Judge Raschio’s 25-page order notes that another hearing is scheduled next Friday, Dec. 23 in his courtroom at 10 a.m. No date for the actual trial has been set.
“The public interest in this matter is real and significant,” the judge observed in his order. “The people of Oregon voted for the measure by margin of 975,553 (50.65%) for the measure, and 950,589 (49.35%) against. The court acknowledges the proponents demonstrated that our society has become exacerbated by the relentless news about mass shootings in the country and the slaughter of innocents.
“However,” he continued, “there is strong evidence presented by the proponents of BM114 that public safety is not promoted by the exercise of the authority contained in BM114 and the measure unduly frustrates the right to bear arms making it unconstitutional. There is nearly equal public interest in issuing preliminary injunction.
“There is serious harm to the public interest, as well, when individuals are arrested, prosecuted and convicted of Class misdemeanor under an unconstitutional statutory regime, potential if BM114 is allowed to go in effect at this time,” Judge Raschio wrote.
“A delay for judicial review of the constitutionality of the measure outweighs immediate implementation subject to potentially overturning the measure after the review. The public interest demands judicial scrutiny and deliberation to avoid see-sawing back and forth on this issue. final determination needs to be made on the constitutionality of the measure prior to lifting any injunction.”
The judge also noted that plaintiffs in the case “have shown there is likelihood that the court will find the section facially unconstitutional.”
At this point, it is not a certainty Measure 114 will ever actually be implemented. If the main components—the magazine ban and purchase permit/training requirement—are found to be unconstitutional, it essentially guts the measure’s intent.
