Why It Matters: Oregon’s law-abiding hunters and recreational shooters have long played a vital role in funding conservation and wildlife management efforts throughout the state. Under the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF), a unique “user pays – public benefits” structure, Oregon’s sportsmen and women generate tens of millions of dollars each year for the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. These funds are generated through license sales and a 10-11% federal excise tax on sporting-related goods, including firearm purchases. If implemented, Measure 114 will impact conservation funding in by decreasing the tax revenue available for wildlife management and conservation.
- On July 14, Judge Karin Immergut in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued a ruling upholding the provisions of Oregon’s Measure 114 as constitutional. The plaintiffs in the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) case have since filed a notice of intent to appeal the ruling.
- Oregon’s Measure 114 narrowly passed on the November 2022 ballot and, if implemented, would ban standard capacity magazines and require an impossible permitting system to purchase a firearm. The measure’s provisions remain on hold while legal challenges are also underway in state court.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and eight partner organizations filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court on May 31st in support of the NSSF-backed lawsuit.
Nearly one month after the week-long trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Judge Karin Immergut issued a ruling on July 14th upholding the provisions of Oregon’s ballot Measure 114 as constitutional. The plaintiffs in the NSSF-backed legal challenge have since filed a notice of intent to appeal the ruling. The case, which was a combination of four federal lawsuits, challenged Measure 114’s ban on standard capacity magazines and impossible permitting process as unconstitutional. Measure 114 was passed on the November 2022 ballot by a narrow margin of less than 1.5% and has since remained on hold due to a state court injunction that will be in place until that court considers the provisions legality at a trial in September. Both before and since its passage, over 20 national and state organizations have organized as the Sportsmen’s Opposed to Gun Violence Coalition, which led an opposition campaign to the ballot measure and has since been working on legal and legislative strategy.
On May 30th, ahead of the federal trial, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and several members of the Sportsmen Opposed to Gun Violence Coalition filed an amicus brief in U.S. District Court in support of the NSSF- backed lawsuit. The amicus brief, drafted with support from Safari Club International’s litigation team, 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.
Coalition members filing the amicus brief 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 Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and partner organizations also successfully opposed Senate Bill 348 during the 2023 legislative session which, if passed, would have implemented Measure 114’s provisions through legislative action. CSF and other members of the Sportsmen’s Opposed to Gun Violence Coalition will continue to support the federal legal challenge against Oregon Measure 114 as it moves forward.
