Oregon's Supreme Court Has Sat on Measure 114 for a Year
Oregon's Supreme Court still has not ruled on Measure 114, more than a year after hearing oral arguments on November 5, 2025. Voters narrowly approved the measure in 2022 with roughly 51 percent support. It would ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds and require a permit before anyone buys a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. A county circuit judge struck the law under the Oregon Constitution, but an appeals court reversed that ruling and sent the case to the state's highest court. The justices have offered no timeline, and the measure's effective date has now slid to January 1, 2028.
Key Details
Measure 114 bundles several separate changes. Each one hits a different group of buyers and owners.
- Magazine limit: Magazines holding more than 10 rounds could not be manufactured, sold, purchased, transferred, or imported. Possession would generally be limited to private property and shooting ranges.
- Transfer freeze: A gun sale could not close until the background check finishes and the dealer receives approval. The current rule that lets a sale proceed after three business days without a determination would end.
- Permit to purchase: Buyers would need a permit from a local law enforcement agency before acquiring any firearm, including ordinary handguns, rifles, and shotguns.
- Training requirement: Applicants would have to complete an approved firearms safety course that includes a live-fire component.
- Permit term: A permit would stay valid for five years. It would not replace the background check at each purchase.
During the last legislative session, Democrats tried to raise the permit fee to about $150 and double the agency review window from 30 to 60 days. Senate Republicans threatened a walkout, and the majority passed a narrower bill that only pushed Measure 114's effective date to January 1, 2028. The Supreme Court's silence now overlaps with that delay, so no one can say with confidence when the permit system will start.
Background
Measure 114 emerged from Oregon's push to tighten gun laws after the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. That ruling required the government to justify firearm regulations by pointing to the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation, and it changed the test lower courts must apply to Second Amendment challenges. Oregon's measure reached the courts quickly, and the trial-level ruling against it turned on the state constitution rather than the federal one.
The federal challenge has moved more slowly. A lawsuit against Measure 114 has sat in the Ninth Circuit since 2023, waiting on the Supreme Court's resolution of Duncan v. Bonta, the California magazine case. Oregon's justices may be waiting for the high court to speak on magazine bans in Viramontes and Grant before they rule. Nothing forces them to wait, but the court has not explained its timing.
Why It Matters for Gun Owners
Oregon residents face the most direct exposure. If Measure 114 takes effect, anyone who wants a new firearm would need a permit first, and the permit process would add a government gate before the background check even begins. Families who buy a rifle for a hunting trip would wait longer and pay more. Dealers would face a hard stop on any sale that clears the three-day window without a result.
Magazine owners carry the largest risk. The measure would restrict magazines over 10 rounds to private property and ranges, which means a common carbine magazine bought in Idaho or Washington could become a legal problem the moment it crosses the state line. Owners in border counties should check their inventory now. Anyone who sells or transfers high-capacity magazines should stop doing so until the courts settle the question.
Gun owners should also track two dates. The first is any Supreme Court opinion in Oregon. The second is January 1, 2028, the new effective date. A ruling could come before then, and it could land at any time.
DownRange Analysis
A permit-to-purchase scheme for ordinary handguns, rifles, and shotguns is a hard sell under Bruen. The Court asks whether a modern law fits within the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. Few founding-era or Reconstruction-era analogues require a government permit before a law-abiding adult can acquire a common firearm. Supporters will point to licensing laws from the 1800s, but those rarely reached ordinary arms. The magazine ban faces a different fight, and the Ninth Circuit's handling of California's law will shape it.
The market is already reacting. Dealers in Oregon are watching the transfer freeze closely, and magazine makers are pricing in the risk of a sudden ban. Buyers who want a magazine over 10 rounds for a legal purpose in another state should buy now, keep receipts, and store magazines in compliance with their own state's law. Oregon gun owners should contact the Oregon Firearms Federation and their legislators, and keep their own records of every purchase.
