PORTLAND, OR – Oregon Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statements in response to Harney County Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Raschio’s recent orders blocking Measure 114, which prohibits high-capacity magazines and requires gun buyers to have a permit, from taking effect. Yesterday, Judge Raschio issued a preliminary injunction against the measure’s high capacity magazine prohibition. Judge Raschio also extended a temporary restraining order against provisions that require a purchase permit and strengthen the background check process.
“Oregon voters support and have demanded strong gun safety laws that protect our communities from the daily gun violence in our cities, at our schools and in our homes. We cannot and should not wait until a gunman brings a high capacity magazine into one of our schools or grocery stores or places of worship and marks our community as the next site of a horrific tragedy,” said Hilary Uhlig, a volunteer with the Oregon chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Oregon voters made their voices loud and clear at the ballot box by voting in favor of the common sense gun safety policies in Measure 114. The Oregon Supreme Court should take up this case and rule in favor of the will of the people and the safety of our communities.”
In the court decision, Judge Raschio wrote that “The court finds that there is less than a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of a person being a fatality in a mass shooting in Oregon” and called the public safety benefits of the measure “mere speculation that the restriction could promote public safety” – despite research showing that mass shooting fatalities were 70 percent less likely to occur when the federal prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was in effect. Mass shootings that involve a high capacity magazine result in five times as many people shot on average and there have been numerous mass shootings nationwide where a gunman used a high capacity magazine just this year, including in states like Colorado with similar gun laws to Oregon. Oregon has put responsible gun laws in place to prevent gun violence, becoming a national leader on gun safety by passing laws like an Extreme Risk law in 2017, and background checks on all gun sales in 2015. Measure 114 is another step to creating a strong system of gun safety laws in Oregon and preventing future tragedies.
According to EveryStat, the rate of gun deaths has increased 24% from 2011 to 2020 in Oregon, compared to a 33% increase nationwide.
To learn more about how gun violence looks in Oregon, visit here.