On March 20th, the Attorney General submitted an amended ballot title for Initiative Petition 40. The state Supreme Court previously sided with NRA on several points in a challenge against IP 40, finding the title and “yes” result statement inadequate to alert voters of the changes proposed to the law. The final, modified title now reads:
“Requires locking firearm/using locked storage (exceptions), reporting loss, supervising minors' use. Penalties/strict liability.”
Initiative Petition 40 requires all firearms to be locked with a trigger-locking device or kept in a locked container, unless carried, with each firearm not secured constituting a separate violation. Anyone who has their firearms lost or stolen would be strictly liable for any injury to persons or property if the firearms were not stored in compliance with the law. Gun safety and storage is a matter of personal responsibility and every person’s situation is different. It is unreasonable for the law to impose a one-size-fits-all solution. In short, this measure invades people’s homes and forces them to render their firearms useless for self-defense or become criminals.
Proponents will now have until July 2nd to gather 112,020 signatures in order to place the initiative on the November ballot. Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org and your email inbox for further updates on this initiative and others issues affecting our Second Amendment rights in Oregon.