Gun sales skyrocket in Oregon after passage of Measure 114

CLACKAMAS, Ore. (KPTV) — With three weeks until Measure 114 officially becomes law in Oregon, there’s a rush to buy guns, ammo, and magazines.

Oregon State Police said since the election, applications for background checks have jumped nearly 400%. Gun stores FOX 12 spoke with around the metro area and agreed with that statistic saying customers have been coming in nonstop. At one store in Milwaukie, there was a line of about 30 people waiting to get inside before the doors even opened. When they did, it was almost shoulder-to-shoulder inside. Alan was one of the customers who was looking to buy a gun Thursday. He said he does not agree with Measure 114 which passed by just a few thousand votes.

“The law is poorly written, they don’t have a way to enforce things like legacy magazines,” Alan said. “I just think it’s going to be a mess.”

Measure 114 expands background checks, requires gun owners to take a training course for a permit before they can even buy a gun, ban magazine clips that have more than 10 rounds, and registers all gun owners in a database run by Oregon State Police. Local law enforcement agencies, like the Marion and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Offices, said they’re working to understand what role they play in implementing the new law. Don Nutt lives in Clackamas County, the only county in the metro area to vote no on Measure 114. He said the measure is overreaching.

“It’s restricting normal citizens from owning normal things,” Nutt said. “It has nothing to do with blocking crime. Criminals are not going to stop to see how many bullets they have in their magazines.”

So far, the Union County and Linn County Sheriff’s announced they’re not going to enforce Measure 114. With the clock ticking on it becoming law, Oregon’s gun owners are anxious to see what’s next.

“People that I see here are good people and they follow the law,” Alan said. “Those typically involved in incidents, they’re not going to follow the law. It doesn’t matter how many laws there are.”

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