Oregon Supreme Court’s Year-Long Silence Leaves Gun Control Measure in Limbo – Bearing Arms

Back on November 5, 2025, the Oregon Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the challenge to Measure 114. More than 12 months later, we’re still waiting to hear what the justices have to say about the gun control referendum that was narrowly approved by about 51 percent of voters in 2022. 

Measure 114, if upheld, will make several major changes to state law. First, it imposes a ban on ammunition magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. While the measure doesn’t ban possession of these magazines outright, it does generally limit their use to private property and shooting ranges. Otherwise, the manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, and importation of “large capacity” magazines is prohibited.

The measure would also prohibit firearm transfers until the required background check is completed and the dealer receives approval.

That would eliminate the ability to transfer a firearm once three business days have passed without a completed background-check determination, which is what’s currently allowed under both state and federal law. 

The biggest change to the state’s gun laws, though, would be the enactment of a permit-to-purchase scheme. Oregonians would have to obtain a permit from a local law enforcement agency before purchasing or acquiring a firearm, including an ordinary handgun, rifle, or shotgun.

To qualify, applicants would generally have to:

• Complete an approved firearms safety course, including a live-fire component

• Submit fingerprints and identifying information

• Pass a criminal background check

• Pay a permit application fee of up to $65

The permit would remain valid for five years. Importantly, it would not replace the background check required when purchasing a firearm. Buyers would still have to undergo that check when completing a transaction. Democrats tried to raise that application fee to about $150 last session, while also doubling the time authorities had to approve or deny an application from 30 to 60 days. They were stymied, though, by threats of a walkout by Senate Republicans, and instead passed a bill that simply extends the effective date of Measure 114 to January 1, 2028. 

I have no doubt that if the state Supreme Court gives the green light to Measure 114, it won’t be long before Democrats once again try to impose a punitive tax on the exercise of a fundamental civil right. 

A county judge declared Measure 114 to violate the Oregon constitution, but an appeals court reversed his decision, leading to the state Supreme Court taking up the litigation and hearing oral arguments last November. It’s unclear why the court hasn’t weighed in yet, but a lawsuit filed in federal court over Measure 114 has been on hold in the Ninth Circuit since 2023, pending the Supreme Court’s resolution of Duncan v. Bonta, which is the lawsuit over California’s magazine ban. 

It could be that the Oregon Supreme Court is waiting to hear what, if anything, SCOTUS says that could implicate magazine bans in Viramontes before releasing its opinion about Measure 114, but there’s nothing that requires them to do so. 

Whatever the reason for the delay, the justices have now had more than a year to consider whether Measure 114 violates the Oregon Constitution. And while there’s no deadline for the court to issue its decision, it’s hard to argue that this case doesn’t deserve some urgency.

We’re talking about a law that would fundamentally change how Oregonians exercise their Second Amendment rights. If Measure 114 takes effect, buying a gun will become far more complicated, time-consuming, and expensive, and hundreds of thousands if not millions of commonly owned ammunition magazines will be subject to sweeping restrictions. Gun owners deserve to know whether those provisions will ever become enforceable, and so do the law enforcement agencies that would be responsible for implementing the permit-to-purchase system.

The court’s eventual decision may not be the final word, either. Even if the justices uphold Measure 114 under the Oregon Constitution, the federal challenges remain unresolved. And depending on what the U.S. Supreme Court has to say about bans on commonly owned semi-automatic firearms in Viramontes and Grant, the legal landscape surrounding magazine bans could look very different by the time Measure 114 is scheduled to take effect in 2028.

It’s entirely possible that Oregon gun owners will still be fighting over Measure 114 six years after voters narrowly approved it. That’s an awfully long time to leave major restrictions to the exercise of a fundamental right hanging in the balance.

The Oregon Supreme Court has had plenty of time to consider the arguments. At some point, the people who are going to be living with the consequences deserve an answer, and one that comports with the Oregon Constitution’s edict that the people “shall have the right to bear arms for the defence of themselves, and the State…” 

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

Help us continue to report on and expose the Democrats’ gun-grabbing schemes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.