Below is a news release from the Oregon Sportsmen’s and Women’s Coalition, of which the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is a member. RMEF maintains the measure detrimentally impacts the ability of hunters and others to purchase and own firearms. It also impedes RMEF’s ability to raise funds to bolster conservation work in Oregon.
PORTLAND, Oregon — The Oregon Sportsmen’s and Women’s Coalition has filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging the implementation of Oregon Ballot Measure 114, which imposes an arduous permitting process for the legal transaction of firearms and sets a 10-round limit on magazine capacity.
The measure is being challenged by four combined federal lawsuits that will be heard by Honorable Karin J. Immergut in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
The amicus brief supports the Eyre vs. Rosenblum lawsuit, backed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and Oregon Shooting Sports Association (OSSA), which contends that Measure 114’s permitting requirement is unconstitutionally burdensome as it impedes the Second Amendment-protected right to own firearms and doesn’t provide historical justification for the restriction.
The permitting process requires completion of safety courses conducted by local law enforcement agencies and the final decision can be left up to the discretion of a single permit agent. These safety courses are not currently available and are not expected any time soon due to lack of resources, and there aren’t clear criteria for denying a permit. This makes legally obtaining firearms of any caliber, for historically authorized purposes including hunting and shooting sports, nearly impossible and subject to potential discrimination.
The Sportsmen’s and Women’s Coalition includes Oregon Hunters Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, Oregon Wild Sheep Foundation, Safari Club International (SCI), National Deer Association, Delta Waterfowl, and Ducks Unlimited.
The amicus brief, drafted with help from SCI’s litigation team, highlights the coalition organizations’ missions as diverse, but all sharing a common interest in hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation, and shooting sports. These groups have funded and participated in wildlife, habitat, and natural resource conservation projects in Oregon.
“The Sportsmen’s and Women’s Coalition includes organizations that have hundreds of thousands of members who are committed to sustainable practices that protect and invest in our shared natural resources,” said Keely Hopkins, Manager of Pacific States & Firearm Policy for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “Measure 114 not only takes away the constitutional right to keep and bear firearms, but it also creates a barrier to entry to hunting and recreational shooting that will have a cascading negative effect on conservation efforts in Oregon, which are funded in large part through hunting licenses. By diminishing the ability to introduce hunting to a new generation of Oregonians, this measure diminishes the positive impacts hunting has on Oregon’s natural habitats.”
(Photo credit: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)