Bureau has declared it cannot conduct background checks for Measure 114, making it a crime for law enforcement officers to issue permits.
Legal gun sales will end in Oregon should Ballot Measure 114 survive ongoing court challenges, according to guidance provided to all county sheriffs by the Oregon State Sheriffs Association (OSAA).
Because the FBI has stated that it will not conduct background checks for the new law, no enforcement officer will be able to issue a permit to purchase a weapon as required by the measure.
Doing so would be a crime, the legal guidance states.
In addition, OSAA advised sheriffs that virtually all firearm magazines would be banned after the law takes effect.
Anyone possessing them would be committing a crime and could be arrested.
That includes off-duty police officers.
Tougher Rules
Voters approved Measure 114 last year with 50.7 percent of Oregonians saying “yes.”
To qualify for a permit under the measure, an applicant would need to complete an approved, in-person firearm safety course, pay a fee, provide personal information, submit to fingerprinting and photographing, and pass an FBI criminal background check.
The permits would be processed by local police chiefs, county sheriffs or their designees, and Oregon State Police (OSP) with information then submitted to the FBI.
The measure also bans magazines that are capable of holding, or being modified to hold, more than 10 rounds.
Measure 114 has been in litigation since November 2022.
Plaintiffs in Oregon Firearm Federation v. the State of Oregon received the first hearing on Dec. 2, with oral arguments before Federal Judge Karin Immergut.
On Dec. 6, Judge Immergut denied plaintiffs a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the implementation of the measure but granted the state’s request for a 30-day delay on the permit-to-purchase portion of the new rules.
In that hearing, the Oregon Attorney General’s Office reassured the court that the permit-to-purchase system required by the new measure would be ready by Dec. 8 when the law was to take effect.
By Scottie Barnes
