(music)
- [Narrator] Should you need to take a safety course
and pass two background checks to purchase a gun,
or are any limits on gun ownership unconstitutional?
This November, Oregonians will decide
how much they're willing to regulate gun ownership.
(music)
First, some facts.
According to estimates, about a third to half
of Oregon's 1.6 million households have at least one gun
in the home.
Gun purchases in the state peaked in 2020
and have stayed higher than in recent years.
Nearly 600 people in Oregon died by gun in 2020,
nearly 80% of the people lost died by suicide,
followed by homicide and accidents.
Both nationally and in Oregon, gun deaths are rising,
especially among people who own guns
and as mass shootings have become more frequent,
national and statewide polls suggest a growing majority
think gun laws should be stricter.
Yet at the same time, many states
and the U.S. Supreme Court are easing restrictions.
Currently in Oregon,
a background check is required to purchase a gun
though you can technically buy a gun before
the check is completed.
And there are red flag laws that allow guns to be removed
from people considered a danger to themselves or others,
but there are currently no permits required
to purchase a gun and few limits on the types of guns,
or ammunition you can own in the state.
In November, Oregon voters will decide whether
to create new state gun laws.
Measure 114 has two main components.
First, to buy a gun a person would need
to get a new permit from a local law enforcement agency,
requiring a criminal background check
and the successful completion of a gun safety course.
The new background check
to get a permit would be in addition
to the one already required to purchase a gun.
Safety courses would teach safe storage,
and handling and how suicide
and homicide affect communities.
The permit would be per person, not per gun
and permits would be good for five years.
Official estimates say it's unclear
if permit fees would ultimately cover the cost
of the measure.
Second, any magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds
of ammunition would be banned,
this would only apply going forward.
People who currently own such magazines would be able
to keep them though not use them.
Guns that have built in magazines holding more
than 10 rounds would have to be modified in order
to be legally transported or used.
Supporters of the measure compare the proposal
to what's required to drive a car.
They say needing a driver's license doesn't infringe on
a person's right to travel,
and that this new permitting system is a common sense way
to reduce gun violence.
Research shows that tighter gun laws reduce homicide,
and suicide rates.
Following Connecticut's implementation
of a very similar licensing law,
the state's firearm homicide rate declined 40%
and the firearm suicide rate declined 15.4%.
Opponents say the measure would trample
on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
They say the proposed rules are too vague and subject
to abuse and that law enforcement agencies have neither
the capacity nor the cash to be in charge
of issuing permits.
They worry that certain guns capable
of holding more than 10 rounds would be effectively banned,
and they say it will be impossible to prove whether a person
acquired a high capacity magazine before or after the ban.
Oregon is the only state to have a measure
that would tighten gun laws on the ballot this year.
That puts Oregon voters squarely at the center
of one of the most contentious issues of our time.
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