Oregon overturns ‘second amendment sanctuary’ law in blow to gun movement

A court in Oregon delivered a blow to state’s “second amendment sanctuary” movement, when they ruled on Wednesday that local governments will not be able to ban law enforcement from enforcing certain gun laws in a ruling that could set a precedent nationwide for anti-gun control advocates.

The lawsuit was largely focused on a 2020 measure that was passed in Columbia County, which is a conservative area in the Democratic state.   The lawsuit argued state and federal gun laws should not be applied to their county and that local officials should not have the power to enforce the regulations. The county was one of the approximately 1,200 in US, from Virginia to pass a second amendment sanctuary bill.

The Oregon state court of appeals ruled the law, which has the power to fine officials who enforce most federal and state gun laws, violated a law granting the state the authority to regulate firearms. The court said in their law that the ruling would “create a ‘patchwork quilt’ of firearms laws in Oregon.”

“It would have the potential to lead to uncertainty for firearms owners concerning the legality of their conduct as they travel from county to county,” Judge Douglas Tookey wrote.

Gun safety advocates praised the ruling and said that they hoped it could create a snowball affect across the country.

“Today’s opinion by the Court of Appeals makes it clear that common sense requirements like safe storage and background checks apply throughout Oregon,” said Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who joined the case in opposition to Columbia County’s ordinance. “Hopefully, other counties with similar measures on the books will see the writing on the wall.”

The Oregon Firearms Federation released a statement on Wednesday stating that the ruling “calls into question the legitimacy of the court and the likelihood of getting fair rulings from it.”