Initial ruling on Measure 114 due next week

PORTLAND – U. S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut heard arguments from plaintiffs and the Oregon Attorney General’s Office over the constitutionality of Ballot Measure 114, which is scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 8. She is being asked to stop the measure from becoming active until the questions raised by plaintiffs in three suits against the gun control measure are resolved in the courts.

Immergut stated that she wants to review both arguments and the cases they reference before making her decision. She added that she also has to consider a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that changes the standards applicable to gun laws.

That ruling, handed down by SCOTUS in June means that states trying to enact a gun law must show it is consistent with how firearms were regulated historically. Legal experts say that means states might have not be able to enact gun laws that don’t have a historical parallel, especially if the problem that the law is trying to address a problem that arguably has existed for generations, according to a report on CNN.

Immergut expects to issue her ruling Monday or Tuesday on the issuance of a temporary restraining order. She will also oversee a hearing on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction to block the law from being implemented until a final ruling on its constitutionality, which could be in effect for years if either side chooses to go appeal the case.

Immergut was appointed to the bench by Pres. Donald Trump in 2019. Prior to that she served as a U.S. attorney in Portland, appointed by Pres. George W. Bush. The New York native was a Democrat prior to 1998. She then changed her registration to an Independent and, from 2003 has been a registered Republican.

Photo of Judge Immergut provided by the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society

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Elkhorn Media Group

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