The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld Measure 114 under the state constitution last month. In 2022, voters approved the gun control law, which bans the sale of magazines able to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and requires a permit to purchase a gun.
The rollout of Measure 114, though, is still on hold as the Oregon Supreme Court decides whether to hear a challenge.
Matt Sutterfield, manager of Black Flag Armory in Medford, said he鈥檚 seen an increase in demand following the recent court ruling, as Rogue Valley residents look to pick up guns before any restrictions are in place.
鈥淢ost of the past month has been just a madhouse of customers in the store, waiting in line for for help and service,鈥� Sutterfield said.
He said high-capacity magazines are especially flying off the shelves. And customers aren鈥檛 only inquiring about products, said Sutterfield, but about the law.
鈥淲e have not only customers calling on the phone, but emailing us, coming in the store,鈥� he said. 鈥淚've even had local police officers coming in to ask us about updates because it's so unclear.鈥�
Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Sickler said when and if Measure 114 goes into effect, his office can have the required permitting process up and running fairly quickly. But he said it鈥檚 hard to anticipate the extra workload of that system.
鈥淲e do anticipate that it could be significant, and it could really require reallocation of a lot of sheriff's office resources to do this permitting process,鈥� Sickler said. 鈥淲hich means, in essence, a less safe community.鈥�
Measure 114 isn鈥檛 the only gun-related law Oregonians are following. There are currently three proposed bills in the state legislature that would further regulate firearms.
would extend the waiting period for purchasing a gun to 72 hours and ban devices like bump stocks, which increase the rate of fire.
would change details around the execution of Measure 114, like increasing permit fees. But Jess Marks with Alliance for a Safe Oregon said the bill would not affect whether or not the measure is implemented.
鈥淭he goal of that bill is to try to make the process smoother and easier,鈥� said Marks.
Meanwhile, would create a state licensing program for gun sellers and require inventory tracking.
Supporters of Measure 114 say the law would help prevent gun deaths. Opponents say the restrictions violate the Second Amendment and don鈥檛 address the state鈥檚 mental health crisis. Suicide is the leading cause of firearm fatalities in Oregon.
