"Oregon gun safety measure poised to appear on November ballot

If voters approve it, the measure will require completed background
checks and ban large-capacity ammunition magazines

BY: JULIA SHUMWAY - JULY 6, 2022 5:30 AM

Gun control legislation being considered by the U.S. Senate would
strengthen background checks and spend $750 million on red flag laws
against gun ownership by people who pose a potential threat. (Alex
Wong/Getty Images)

Supporters of a gun safety ballot initiative say they have gathered more
than enough signatures to guarantee a statewide vote on a law that would require licenses for all gun owners.

Hundreds of volunteers for Initiative Petition 17 will continue
collecting petition signatures across Oregon until Tuesday night, then
deliver them to the Secretary of State’s Elections Division on Friday.
As of Monday afternoon, organizers estimate that they’ve collected
between 135,000 and 140,000 signatures – well above the 112,000 needed
to make the ballot and ensure a comfortable buffer in case some aren’t
valid.

Mark Knutson, a Lutheran pastor in Portland and one of the chief
petitioners, told the Capital Chronicle that the campaign started off
slow because an increase in Covid cases and a rainy spring made it hard
to collect signatures. But mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and
Uvalde, Texas, in May spurred hundreds of volunteers to pick up
clipboards and set up outside libraries and grocery stores.

“A lot of people who were holding back because of Covid said, ‘Now I’ve got to get out there. I’ve got to get out there and do something.’” Knutson said. “And this was one thing people could do right here in
Oregon. We’ve had over 1,100 new volunteers since those two tragedies.”

Those volunteers are finishing their work in the aftermath of another
tragedy. On Monday, a gunman killed seven people and injured at least
two dozen at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland
Park.

The initiative would tighten Oregon’s gun laws, which allow gun
ownership at 18 and requires criminal background checks before gun
purchases, though a loophole in federal law allows firearms dealers to
sell guns without a background check if it takes longer than three days
to complete. The man who killed nine people in a racially-motivated
shooting at a South Carolina church in 2015 acquired his gun that way.

If the measure were enacted, everyone would have to complete a
background check, no matter how long it takes, and pass firearm safety
training to obtain a permit before buying a gun. It would not apply to
current firearm owners unless they purchase additional weapons after the
law took effect.

The measure would also prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines that
can contain more than 10 rounds, though people who already own large
magazines could continue to use them on their property, while hunting or
at shooting ranges.

The initiative would not ban assault-style weapons, which have been used
in many mass shootings, though petitioners plan to work with legislators
to pass such a ban in 2023. They initially planned to put that ban on
the November ballot but decided it worked better to focus all their
efforts on one initiative, Knutson said.

Joe Paterno, a retired physical therapist from Portland who serves as
the initiative’s co-field director, told the Capital Chronicle the
petition seems to resonate with voters.

“Many of the signers, after we talk to them, they become circulators,”
he said. “What does that tell you? They’re listening, they’re understanding the need, and they’re saying ‘How can I help?’”"
[snip]

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2022/07/06/oregon-gun-safety-measure-poised-to-appear-on-november-ballot/

TB

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