{"id":96162,"date":"2023-09-20T22:31:13","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T03:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=96162"},"modified":"2023-09-20T22:31:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T03:31:13","slug":"96162","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=96162","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Opponents of Measure 114 gun laws say case is about \u201cindividual rights\u201d in trial opening<\/a><\/p>\n

In opening statements Monday, lawyers for two people suing over Oregon\u2019s new gun laws said Ballot Measure 114\u2032s provisions are the \u201cmost significant threat to [the right to bear arms] Oregonians have faced in nearly 165 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case is not about public health, public safety or public concern,\u201d plaintiffs\u2019 attorney Tony Aiello told Judge Robert Rascio. \u201cThis is about individual rights. This is about the individual right to self defense and the right to bear arms to secure that right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aiello said plaintiffs in the state trial plan to show that Measure 114, approved by voters last year, effectively limits Oregonians to owning only antique firearms. He said Measure 114 regulates firearms that were plentiful prior to 1859, the year Article I, Section 27 of the Oregon constitution \u2014 the section protecting the right to bear arms \u2014 was ratified.<\/p>\n

The new laws would ban high capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition, require a completed background check to buy or transfer a firearm and require a person to take training and receive a permit to purchase a firearm. Raschio, an Oregon Circuit Court judge based in Harney County, blocked the new laws from taking effect in December pending\u00a0this week\u2019s trial<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In their opening statement, lawyers defending the new rules for the Oregon Department of Justice said the court must determine if large capacity magazines are considered \u201carms\u201d under the state constitution, and thus protected, a question they said had already been resolved by the Oregon State Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Court of Appeals rejected the idea that semiautomatic firearms are protected arms,\u201d attorney Anit Jindal said. \u201cIndeed, evidence at trial will confirm that large capacity magazines were not commonly used for self defense in 1859.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his opening statement in defense of Measure 114, Jindal said the new restrictions are a reasonable public safety response to the risk posed by large capacity magazines. They plan to call witnesses who will show how those magazines allow shooters to continue firing without reloading and have increased the lethality of mass shootings.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaken together, the testimony of defendant\u2019s experts will demonstrate to the court, that large capacity magazines increase the number of firearms homicides and the frequency and fatality of mass shootings,\u201d Jindal said.<\/p>\n

He added that they will also show that large capacity magazines are rarely used in self defense, that the permit-to-purchase system is a reasonable public safety measure and that time restrictions in that requirement are consistent with the history of the right to bear arms.<\/p>\n

The first witness for Measure 114 opponents was Derek LeBlanc, a firearms instructor who also teaches self defense and consults on home security. He said he recommends his students get a firearm they can afford and that holds as many rounds as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want as many rounds as I can carry inside the gun,\u201d LeBlanc said. \u201c\u201dI might not have the time to grab an extra magazine. It gives me the ability to be able to deal with that imminent threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

On cross examination, LeBlanc was asked why he didn\u2019t carry 60- or 100-round magazines. As an example of when it might be appropriate for someone to carry a 100-round magazine, he cited the need to defend oneself during the Portland racial justice protests of 2020 when what he described as \u201cmobs of people\u201d were in the streets.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong>\u00a0Measure 114 would tighten gun laws in Oregon<\/a><\/p>\n

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