Oregon Gun Control Measure 114 Is Too Close to Call

It currently has 51% of the vote, according to preliminary results.

Rev. Mark Knutson (R), Lift Every Voice proponent of gun-safefy measure 114, and adviser Elizabeth McKanna (L), speak to supporters at East Portland Community Center. (John Rudoff/Photo Credit: ©John Rudoff 2022)
By Lucas Manfield

The success of a volunteer-led effort to ban high-capacity magazines and require permits for gun purchases was still up in the air Tuesday night.

Just over 51% of voters supported Ballot Measure 114, with around 1.2 million ballots counted as of 9 pm. Oregon has nearly 3 million registered voters, and final turnout was unclear.

“The vote counting is underway and it’s still too early to tell,” Mark Knutson of Lift Every Voice Oregon said in a press release. “We’re keeping hope alive.”

Advocates say the measure is a common-sense way to address gun violence and mass shootings. It’s opponents include the National Rifle Association, as well as sheriffs who said it would be excessively burdensome for local law enforcement offices that would be required to administer the permit program.

Oregon had three other measures on the ballot. Measure 111, which would enshrine the right to health care in the state’s constitution, but not fund it, also remains a toss-up, with 49% of votes in favor so far.

An initiative to remove slavery from the state constitution, Measure 112, has garnered 54% of the vote. Advocates say the change will boost prison-reform efforts.

Measure 113 is the clearest winner of the bunch. The proposal, a constitutional amendment pushed by the state’s Democratic legislators irate over Republican walkouts, would prevent the reelection of lawmakers with more than 10 absences. So far, it’s received 68% of the vote.

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