Latest news with #OregonSupremeCourt
Epoch Times
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Oregon Lawmakers, Courts Weigh Strict New Gun Laws
The battle over firearm safety regulations versus gun rights is raging in Oregon. The fate of Ballot Measure 114, which has been tied up in litigation since voters approved it in 2022, now resides with the Oregon Supreme Court. The measure is widely deemed to contain the strictest gun laws in the nation. Democrat lawmakers, who hold the majority in both legislative chambers, are not waiting for a ruling. Instead, they are advancing three firearms safety bills. The bill would increase the length of time a 'permit agent' has to issue or deny permits, and increase fees to apply for or renew a permit from $65 to $150. Related Stories 2/10/2023 9/19/2023 'We're very eager to have it [Measure 114] put in place,' said Liz McKenna of 'It's time to see what it can do.' Testifying in opposition, Republican state Rep. Alek Skarlatos criticized the proposed $150 permit fee and $110 renewal fee as discriminatory toward low-income individuals, who he claimed are more likely to use firearms for self-defense. 'A $300 rifle is now $450, plus the $48 background check fee,' he said. The bill also extends the time for the state to issue a permit to a qualified applicant from 30 to 60 days from receipt of the application. Though he has supported 'most gun violence measures in the past decade,' Democrat Rep. Paul Evans bucked his party by calling HB 3075 'an attack on disadvantaged Oregonians' in his April newsletter. State Licensing for Dealers Bill 3076 would direct the Oregon Department of Justice to create a state licensing program for gun dealers, with license application and renewal fees as much as $1,500 annually and potential increases of 20 percent each year. Oregon firearm dealers are currently licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and require a Federal Firearms License (FFL), with no additional licensing requirements. Under HB 3076, a valid FFL from the ATF would no longer be sufficient to operate a gun store in the state. Shops of all sizes and home-based FFLs would be required to install a digital video surveillance system that records at any time a customer is on the premises. Gun transfers would have to be captured on video with a three-year storage requirement. All FFL employees who handle firearms or ammunition would be required to first pass a state-certified training course that hasn't been developed yet and follow that training with annual refreshers. 'HB 3076, as amended, creates absurd and draconian new restrictions on gun dealers in an effort to shut down as many firearms businesses as possible,' the Oregon Firearms Federation told The Epoch Times. 'However, the new rules also apply to home-based FFLs and will apply at gun shows, where the requirements will be impossible to comply with.' Oregon House Republicans criticized both bills, saying they restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens to bear arms while doing nothing to reduce crime and uphold public safety. 'These bills are an attack on the constitutional right to bear arms,' House Minority Leader Rep. Christine Drazan said in an April 8 statement to the media. 'The only thing these bills do is punish law-abiding gun owners and small businesses that are in full compliance with federal law.' Evans again broke with his party in saying that he is 'adamantly opposed' to all of Oregon's pending gun legislation. 'The fervor advancing these measures has caused me to earnestly reconsider my party affiliation,' he wrote in his newsletter. Both House bills contain an 'emergency declaration.' This clause ensures that the bills would go into effect as soon as the governor signs them, rather than waiting until January of the following year. Meanwhile, in the Senate ... Introduced by Democrat Sen. Floyd Prozanski, It would also ban rapid-fire devices like bump stocks, binary triggers, and rapid-fire activators, and would allow local governments to ban firearms in public buildings, Prozanski explained in an April 9 'The first part of the law is designed to help prevent suicides or domestic violence,' by requiring a wait time for people with 'high emotions,' Prozanski said. 'It would give them time to rethink their position before carrying out suicide or domestic violence.' Evans described the requirement for a three-day waiting period after passing a background check a 'theft of liberty.' 'Who would support a three-day waiting period for the purchase of an automobile, the delivery of alcohol or a gummy, or for an appointment providing reproductive care?' Testifying in support of the bill on March 27, Jess Marks, executive director for the gun safety advocacy group 'While there has been this huge shift in the technology and the types of firearms available, there have been almost no changes in how this new technology is regulated,' Marks testified. Tracking Measure 114 Voters approved Ballot Measure 114, requiring a permit to purchase a gun, with a 50.75 percent margin. The measure remains on hold pending Under the measure, prospective buyers must pass a criminal background check and complete a gun safety course to obtain a permit to purchase a firearm. They must also prove they are not a danger to themselves or others. If it stands, the measure overrides the 'Charleston Loophole,' a law that currently allows firearm transfers to proceed if a background check takes more than three days. Additionally, it restricts magazines that are 'capable of holding or being modified to hold' more than 10 rounds. A Harney County, Oregon, circuit court judge ruled in November 2023 that Measure 114 violated the state constitution. In a major reversal of that ruling, a three-judge panel of the Oregon Court of Appeals found in March this year that the measure does not violate the state constitution's right to bear arms. The court On April 14, the plaintiffs, two Harney County gun owners, asked the Oregon Supreme Court to weigh in. In a 24-page The plaintiffs contend that its requirement to obtain a permit to buy a gun would turn that constitutional right 'into a privilege for the government to grant or refuse.' The state supreme court can take up to 90 days to act, Aiello explained in a social media 'At some point, the supreme court will decide to hear our case, not hear our case, or the legislature may pass HB 3075,' one of three bills introduced in the state legislature in January, he said. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield vowed that the state would 'Oregonians voted for this, and it's time we move ahead with common-sense safety measures,' Rayfield said. The state ranks 12th in the nation for the strength of its gun laws, State law requires that guns be securely stored whenever they are not in their owner's immediate control, prohibits guns at the state capitol, and gives colleges and universities the authority to prohibit guns on their grounds. In 2023, the state enacted a prohibition on untraceable 'ghost guns' and 3D-printed guns.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oregon Supreme Court declares ODOT's rules for ‘community workforce agreements' invalid
PORTLAND, Ore. () — The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled against the state transportation department in a case involving its enforcement of union labor requirements for certain projects. The on Thursday that declared the Oregon Department of Transportation rule as invalid due to the process the agency used to establish it. 105 Oregon US Cellular workers to be laid off as company attempts to sell to T-Mobile The case follows the 2021 passage of , which allows contracting agencies to enact regulations that 'designate certain public improvement contracts as community benefit contracts.' The measure also called on ODOT to establish community workforce agreements, or CWAs, with labor organizations while drafting these contracts. Court documents show the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America sued the agency in January 2024, claiming that it had failed to give the labor union an opportunity to review the CWAs for eight different projects — although a few of its members were on the two advisory committees for the agreement. The complaint also alleged that ODOT neglected to share the drafted agreement with either of its committees before it was finalized. AGC argued the department is legally required to comply with the rulemaking procedures under the federal Administrative Procedures Act. In their recent opinion, Justice Bronson James and Justice Meagan Flynn said the transportation agency convened with its CWA Advisory Committee 11 times and twice with its Rules Advisory Committee. The justices commended the department's efforts to engage with stakeholders 'given the time constraints' — but they said it could have conducted even more outreach. How would the SAVE Act impact PNW voters? Proof of citizenship explained 'Despite all this input and work undertaken by all the different stakeholders, labor organizations, and ODOT to develop both the CWA and the community benefit contract rule and pilot program, the majority finds that the ODOT process for the current version of the CWA required more opportunity for notice and comment,' the Oregon Supreme Court wrote. KOIN 6 has reached out to the agency for a statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oregon Supreme Court allows class action lawsuit against Tillamook County Creamery Association to proceed
PORTLAND, Ore. () — A class action lawsuit that accuses Oregon's biggest dairy brand of false advertising has been given the green light to proceed. In 2019, the on behalf of four Oregon residents and other customers of the company that claims its products come from cows that graze on farms in its namesake county. Plaintiffs alleged that a majority of the products actually come from 'massive factory farms' in Boardman. Northern Lights tease the Pacific Northwest. Will Portland miss out? The Oregon Supreme Court issued an opinion on Thursday allowing the group to move forward with the complaint, reversing the Multnomah County Circuit Court and Oregon Court of Appeals prior decisions. They previously agreed that the case could not go forward as a class action lawsuit because plaintiffs could not prove that Tillamook customers choose the 'premium' products over cheaper options specifically because of how they are marketed. But the higher court has ruled that plaintiffs' allegations against the dairy company are not reliant on whether consumers read the advertisements. 'It may be true that consumers who did not rely on Tillamook's alleged misreprensetations were not deceived, but it does not necessarily follow that none of them suffered an ascertainable loss — at least if plaintiffs' premium-price theory can be economically proven,' the Oregon Supreme Court wrote. In a statement, the dairy company told KOIN 6 it has 'never hidden' the fact that not all of its offerings are produced in Tillamook County. It also asserted that animals are treated well by all of its business partners, including Eastern Oregon's Threemile Canyon Farms mentioned in the original complaint. Portland Auto Swap Meet, roller derby face-off among weekend events The that more than 90% of its cheese is produced in either Tillamook or Boardman. 'We continue to believe this to be an unmerited attack initiated by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, anti-dairy activists who advocate for people to cut all dairy products from their diets, which only hurts the farming families of Oregon who own our co-op,' TCCA said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Brickbat: Gunned Down
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that Measure 114, a gun control law approved by voters in November 2022, does not violate the state constitution, overturning a lower court's decision that had blocked it. This law aims to reduce gun violence by requiring permits to buy guns and banning magazines holding more than 10 rounds. The appeals court said it fits with Oregon's history of reasonable gun rules. Plaintiffs vowed to appeal the decision to the Oregon Supreme Court. In a separate federal case, a judge also upheld the law, saying it does not violate the Second Amendment. The plaintiffs in that case also plan to appeal. The post Brickbat: Gunned Down appeared first on
