Oregon Gun Law Stays in Limbo as Court Delays Ruling, Takes Effect 2028

Oregon gun owners are still waiting on an answer. The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments over Measure 114 back on November 5, 2025, and more than a year later, it has issued no ruling on whether the gun control measure stands or falls.

Snapshot

Bearing Arms editor Cam Edwards lays out how Measure 114, narrowly approved by Oregon voters in 2022, has been stuck in legal limbo. A county judge struck it down, an appeals court revived it, and now the state's highest court has sat on the case for over a year with no deadline forcing a decision.

Key points

• What the measure does: Measure 114 would ban magazines over 10 rounds for most uses, close the current three-day default-proceed window on background checks, and create a permit-to-purchase system requiring a safety course, fingerprints, a background check and a fee of up to $65.
• Permit details: The permit would last five years and would not replace the point-of-sale background check still required for every purchase.
• Legislative delay: Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic push to raise the fee to about $150 and double processing time to 60 days, but lawmakers still pushed the measure's effective date back to January 1, 2028.
• Possible reason for the wait: Edwards notes a related federal case has been paused in the Ninth Circuit since 2023, pending the U.S. Supreme Court's Duncan v. Bonta ruling, and speculates the state court may be watching Viramontes and Grant too.
• Still unresolved: Even a state ruling won't end the fight, since federal challenges to the magazine ban remain pending separately.

Quick take

Edwards argues that a law reshaping how Oregonians buy guns and own magazines deserves more urgency than a year of silence, and he's not wrong that gun owners and police agencies alike need clarity rather than an open-ended wait.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com