Lift Every Voice Oregon is the anti-gun group that’s not only responsible for Measure 114 but is now pushing for a ban on so-called assault weapons in the upcoming legislative session. As you might imagine, the organization is none too pleased about the fact that their magazine ban and permit-to-purchase scheme have been put on hold for now thanks to a lawsuit filed in circuit court by Gun Owners of America and a pair of gun owners from rural Harney County.
LEVO’s Twitter feed has been strangely silent over the past few weeks as lawsuits have been filed, gun sales have exploded, and the state of Oregon was finally forced to admit on Sunday night that the permit-to-purchase system would not be ready by December 8th, when the law was supposed to take effect. But LEVO’s leadership has been a little more vocal on Facebook during that time period; cocky and confident after Measure 114 was approved by 50.7% of voters, but becoming downright nasty when it became clear that the courts weren’t going to allow Oregonians’ rights to be infringed upon so easily.
Take this Wednesday post from LEVO; the first time they commented on Raschio’s decision to grant a temporary restraining order against all aspects of Measure 114.
LEVO’s first inclination was to insinuate that the Harney County judge is a hayseed who might just harbor anti-government attitudes; not exactly a good look for the group that’s billing itself as the voice of common sense in the state’s gun control debate. Their prediction that the Oregon Supreme Court would soon invalidate Raschio’s decision was also quickly disproved when the Court issued a ruling late Wednesday afternoon allowing the TRO to remain in place.
LEVO still hasn’t commented directly on the Supreme Court’s decision, but they’ve continued to throw shade at Raschio; becoming increasingly shrill and hysterical in their comments.
I guess by that logic the Oregon Supreme Court must be “okay” with mass shootings. In fact, anyone and everyone who was constitutional concerns over Measure 114 must be down with that sickness according to LEVO.
In a followup comment, LEVO added:
One-fourth of US states ban high-capacity magazines. One-third of the people in the US live in those states.
We are sickened that high-capacity magazines are used to slaughter our kids, our families, and our fellow Americans.
The people of Oregon have enacted Measure 114 and, in doing so, rejected the bullying and the slaughter.
Unfortunately for LEVO and 50.7% of Oregon voters, those statistics actually reveal that magazine bans are an outlier in this country and the “large capacity” magazines that Measure 114 would prohibit are still available to a majority of Americans. The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates that there are approximately
304-million detachable magazines in the United States, and 80-million of them can accept more than 30-rounds. The number of magazines that can accept more than ten rounds (the limit under the Oregon law) is undoubtably much higher, and there’s no disputing that these magazines are in common use for a variety of lawful purposes; from training and competitive shooting to self-defense.
While LEVO is melting down on Facebook, its chief spokesman is still putting on a brave face when
speaking to the press.
The Rev. Mark Knutson, one of the chief petitioners for Measure 114 from the interfaith group Lift Every Voice Oregon, said, “I trust things will rule in our favor when the right time comes.”
He said he was pleased that state lawmakers are starting to get involved, having invited the state police superintendent to an informational hearing Wednesday to share the steps being taken to support the measure’s regulations.
Huh. Nothing to say about justices supporting mass murder? No criticism of the court allowing the TRO to stand despite LEVO’s adamant insistence that the Supreme Court would negate Raschio’s ruling and allow Measure 114 to take effect today? Weird.
Then again, The Oregonian coverage of Measure 114 has been pretty slanted in favor of the gun control measure, so for all I know Knutson did let some comments like that fly and the reporters chose not to include them in their story. They certainly could have reported on LEVO’s meltdown on Facebook if they’d wanted to provide their readers with a spicier comment the gun group, but went with Knutson’s unconvincing platitudes instead.
Today was supposed to be a day of celebration for Mark Knutson; the day when “large capacity” magazines were no longer available for sale in Oregon gun stores and every would-be gun buyer forced to apply for permission to exercise a fundamental civil right. Instead, his treasured gun control initiative is on hold for at least a few days (and possibly forevermore), while the looming threat of Measure 114 has caused sales of both firearms and magazines to spike by 500%, according to the Oregon State Police. In fact, there’s been such a crush of background check requests thanks to the flood of customers that some Oregon gun sales are going ahead and releasing firearms to buyers if the checks haven’t been completed within three days, which means Knutson’s gun control measure has put far more guns “on the street” than it will ever take away.
I guess if I were an anti-gun fanatic like whoever’s in charge of LEVO’s Facebook page I’d probably be melting down too. Your gun control measure wasn’t nearly as popular you predicted it would be, so far it’s had the opposite of its intended effect, and the courts have indicated there are enough serious constitutional issues with it that it might never be enforced.
Like Lift Every Voice Oregon, I find the current level of violence in the state (particular in Portland) completely unacceptable. I just don’t think the state’s going to become a safer place by violating the Second Amendment rights of responsible residents. Gun owners and 2A activists will never change the minds of LEVO’s leadership, but at least we can follow along on social media as they lose their minds over the courts’ recognition that our right to keep and bear arms matters, and I can’t wait to see their response to the next hearing in Judge Raschio’s courtroom.
