Ripple Effect: How Measure 114 will affect hundreds of Oregon businesses and gun owners

SOUTHERN OREGON — Hundreds of Oregon gun stores could be at risk of closing down if agencies across the state can’t get a permit process in place before Dec. 8.

Effect on Gun Stores:

“For most small gun stores, it means they’re going to go out of business,” says Terry Welburn, Owner of Welburn’s Weapons in White City.

John Humpton, owner of Black Flag Armory in Medford says if they can’t run background checks, most firearm businesses won’t survive.

“Generally if it's three to six months that we can’t run checks, most local businesses don’t have the available free cash to float their operations for that long,” Humpton said.

Humpton says their business typically brings in $2 million a year in gross sales, which equates to upwards of $ 1 million in sales not taking place if state agencies take the full six months to plan and implement a new permitting process.

In the last two weeks, there has been a major spike in gun sales. Black Flag Armory and Welburn’s Weapons have seen three to four times their daily average in gun sales.

This uptick in sales has caused a major backlog in the Oregon Firearms Instant Check System. On Monday, that queue was around 20,000 pending checks but had gotten up to 24,274 on Nov. 17.

With the law going into effect in less than three weeks, many consumers have asked what happens to their background check if they’re still in the queue following Dec. 8.

Oregon State Police (OSP) issued this response:

OSP is currently working with our legal counsel to understand the impacts that BM114 will have on firearms transactions that were initiated prior to December 8th but are in a pending status. Once we understand how the new law will affect those pended transactions, we will communicate with both the individuals and the gun dealers where they initiated their purchase."

Humpton’s concern is if the state voids all pending transactions, those customers would ask for a refund and his business would continue to lose money.

Effect on local law enforcement:

The state of Oregon announced Dec. 8 would be the date Measure 114 takes effect; but the way the measure is written, the state has up to six months to get a permitting process in place.

Measure 114 would require three different aspects to be in place prior to a person getting their permit-to-purchase.

The first is a new enhanced background check that does not get rid of the original background check that happens each time an individual purchases a firearm.

“The oddity of Measure 114 is that it was sold to us as a background check bill,” says Shawn Kollie, a Medford-based criminal defense lawyer who specializes in gun law. “It’s ludicrous to say this is a background check bill when it does not modify our background check requirement in the slightest.”

The second is the safety course. The safety course requirements are essentially the same requirements for a concealed handgun license (CHL) except for the added focus on suicide prevention.

The third aspect is the live fire training course which must be carried out by law enforcement. The alternative would be an organization a local agency has approved to host those courses.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department says it does not currently have the resources or space to be able to carry out live fire training courses for hundreds of citizens seeking a permit.

However, organizations such as Black Flag Armory have already offered safety and live fire courses in the past few years, courses that meet the baseline requirements for a CHL in Oregon.

“We have the instructors and curriculum that will meet those requirements, it's just the matter of getting that all sorted out as everyone's scrambling to figure out the whole license and permit process,” Humpton said.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged there was no extra funding associated with Measure 114 to help state and local agencies carry out the new regulations and the $65 permit fee would not cover those additional expenses.

Effect of the magazine capacity rule:

According to Measure 114, magazines with a capacity of over ten rounds will now be illegal to manufacture, sell or possess in Oregon.

Law enforcement and those who own a magazine over ten rounds can still use them as long as they are on their own property and can prove the magazine was purchased before January 2023.

Humpton and Welburn say the new law will affect thousands of current gun owners who own firearms with a standard magazine. For example, the standard magazine for a Glock 19 holds 15 rounds. An owner of a firearm such as this one will have to make alterations to their gun to accommodate a magazine with a 10-round capacity to lawfully carry their gun throughout the state.

“There’s been a drive in the industry for years, and in law enforcement, to have higher capacity magazines with smaller low recoil rounds so that people are more accurate when they’re using it for self-defense,” Humpton said.

He says that’s especially true for those people who don’t have regular practice and training but carry firearms for self-defense.

Proponents of Measure 114 feel as though the restrictions on magazine capacity and the other aspects of the new law will prevent mass shootings and help lower gun violence.

A few Southern Oregon Sheriffs have already made public announcements stating they will not spend time and resources to go out of their way in investigating which citizens have obtained a magazine over 10 rounds after Measure 114 takes effect.

Current litigation:

Kollie says he expects litigation on the potential injunction on the sales portion of the new law to come down in the next week or two.

The first lawsuit was filed this weekend by the Oregon Firearms Federation, citing many areas of the new law as unconstitutional.

Kollie says he’s still trying to find a clearer answer as to why the effective date is so soon since his understanding is a measure cannot go into effect until 30 days following the certification of an election.

The Oregon Secretary of State’s office had this response:

Oregon Constitution, Article IV, Section 1 (4d)

Notwithstanding section 1, Article XVII of this Constitution, an initiative or referendum measure becomes effective 30 days after the day on which it is enacted or approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon.

“The day on which it is enacted or approved” is Election Day, and 30 days after November 8 is December 8.

The Oregon Midterm election has yet to be certified.

Kollie hoped more would’ve been done to penalize those who commit crimes with guns rather than create more hoops for lawful citizens to purchase guns.

“We’re not creating bigger penalties for someone committing a crime with a gun, we’ve not created more mandatory minimums for people who commit crimes with guns,” Kollie said. “We have not disincentivized crime with guns, we’ve rather disincentivized ownership of a gun.”