Oregon’s sweeping Ballot Measure 114 (BM 114) passed in November 2022 by the thinnest of margins and amid great controversy. The state’s urban areas voted to support gun control, but the vast majority of counties were solidly against its passage.
Now, in a further victory for Second Amendment advocates, Harney County Circuit Court Judge Robert Raschio on Tuesday issued a general judgment to permanently block BM 114.
Just how permanent his ruling is remains to be seen.
He is intimately involved in the case, Arnold v. Kotek, having first granted a temporary restraining order against the measure on Dec. 6, 2022. The suit was brought by Gun Owners of America.
After rambling through state and federal courts for nearly a year, the case again came before Raschio. It was last Nov. 21 when he issued a permanent injunction barring BM 114’s enforcement.
The judge declared that the law “is facially unconstitutional in all of its applications under Oregon Constitution, Article 1, Section 27. Raschio ordered the defendants be “permanently enjoined from enforcing all provisions of Ballot Measure 114.”
The November ruling found the law violated the state constitution despite a preceding federal court decision that it aligned with the Second Amendment.
In his 44-page ruling, Raschio declared that “Oregon citizens have a right to self-defense against an imminent threat of harm, which is unduly burdened by Ballot Measure 114.”
The circuit court determined that a pair of BM 114 provisions ran afoul of state law. Specifically, they were the “permit-to-purchase” scheme and the ban on high-capacity magazines.
Raschio addressed the controversial magazine ban specifically in his ruling. “Magazines, along with the rest of a firearm’s components, are protected arms…There is no historical basis for limiting the size and capacity of firearms, including their magazines.”
Under the new law, gun purchasers face several new hoops to jump through before acquiring a firearm. They must submit to a criminal background check and complete a gun safety course just to get a permit to purchase a weapon.
Law enforcement organizations in Oregon previously expressed concern over being limited to 10-round magazines under the controversial law. They further believed BM 114 would require officers to obtain a permit to carry their firearms while off-duty.
Raschio noted that the contentious ballot measure passed in the aftermath of the shocking school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. This caused support for the proposal to increase in Oregon, and the judge observed that “mass shooting events have a significant impact on the psyche of America when they happen.”
Because of the enormous publicity following these tragedies, Raschio said that “people tend to believe that these events are prolific and happening all the time.”
Despite being a major impetus for BM 114’s passage, the judge said the sentiment “was not validated by the evidence.”
The contentious law was ruled constitutional earlier in 2023 by a U.S. District Court Judge. The court determined that Second Amendment rights do not extend to high-capacity magazines.
Raschio countermanded this in November and again on Tuesday, though it is doubtless that the state will not accept his ruling quietly. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum fought his previous injunction and will certainly do the same again.
But the good fight is far from over. It is refreshing to see judges who value the Second Amendment act on those beliefs and the bedrock Constitution. And Oregon gun owners can celebrate, at least temporarily, a clear victory in court.
