by Bronson Winslow
Oregon voters are considering passing one of the most restrictive gun control measures in the country that would raise the barriers to purchase a firearm and place gun owners on a searchable database.
Measure 114, often referred to as the Reduction of Gun Violence Act, is a ballot measure that will require background checks, firearm training, fingerprint collection and a permit to purchase any firearm, according to the legislation. Oregon already requires background checks for gun owners, and the new legislation will cost the state $49 million annually while also placing an expected 300,000 residents on a gun owner database, according to Fox News.
“This is the most extreme gun control measure in the country, or at least one of the most extreme. It will virtually eliminate firearm sales in Oregon as written,” Oregon State Shooting Association President Kerry Spurgin told Fox News.
The legislation would require those who wish to own a firearm to complete a gun safety course regulated by the police. The measure also would restrict magazine capacity to ten rounds, an issue gun control groups have prioritized for many years.
“This measure will not make our community safer. It will put our communities at greater risk for violence because it requires that every sheriff’s office and police agency divert scarce public safety resources to background systems that already exist,” Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson said in a video statement, according to Fox News.
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California maintains a similar database for owners of concealed carry permits, yet the Reduction of Gun Violence Act aims to place all gun owners on a database, according to the legislation. Data on gun owners from the California database was leaked in June, and gun rights advocates have argued that a centralized gun database will lead to an abuse of power.
The legislation was pushed on to the Nov. 8 midterm ballot by Lift Every Voice Oregon, which obtained over 130,000 signatures, Fox News reported. A Oct. 4 poll by The Oregonian shows that 51% of likely voters will support the measure in November.
Lift Every Voice Oregon did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Bronson Winslow is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Gun” by Dan Galvani Sommavilla.
