Oregon judge to decide in new trial whether voter-approved gun control law is constitutional

By CLAIRE RUSH and LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press/Report for America

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon judge will decide whether a gun control law approved by voters last year is lawful under the state constitution. Measure 114 requires a permit, criminal background check and training course to buy a gun while also banning high-capacity magazines. The law has been tied up in state and federal court since it was narrowly approved by voters last November. A trial is scheduled to start Monday in Harney County, in the state’s rural southeast, after the judge temporarily blocked the law from taking effect in December. Gun owners have filed a lawsuit arguing the law violated the right to bear arms under the Oregon constitution.