NRA Files Joint Legal Challenge Against Firearm Storage Initiative Petition

[Charlie T Waite]

On Friday, the National Rifle Association announced the filing of a joint legal challenge with the Oregon Hunters Association to contest Oregon Initiative Petition 40, which seeks to impose sweeping restrictions on the storage of legally owned firearms. 

"Denying law-abiding gun owners the ability to choose a storage solution that best meets their individual needs puts their lives and their families at risk," said NRA Oregon State Director Keely Hopkins. "Our challenge will help ensure the rights recognized in DC v. Heller, to have an operable firearm available for self-defense, remain intact." 

If passed, Initiative Petition 40 would require all firearms to be locked with a trigger-locking device or kept in a locked container, unless physically carried on the person while at home. Anyone whose firearm is lost or stolen would be liable for any injury to persons or property committed using the firearm within four years if the firearms were not stored in compliance with the law. Firearm owners would also be liable for any injury occurring within four years of transferring a firearm if it was not transferred in a locked container or with a locking device.

"This poorly conceived initiative imposes a one-size-fits-all solution to an incredibly complex issue. We thank the Oregon Hunters Association for joining us in this fight to protect the rights of Oregon’s law-abiding gun owners," concluded Hopkins. 

The initiative must receive more than 110,000 valid signatures by July in order to appear on the November ballot. They cannot begin signature gathering, however, until the legal challenge is resolved.