Gun Rights Showdown: Oregon Supreme Court to Hear Measure 114 Case

The legal battle over Oregon’s controversial Measure 114 is heading into its final round. After nearly three years of litigation, the Oregon Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on November 6, 2025, deciding the future of one of the state’s most sweeping gun control laws and potentially redefining the scope of Oregonians’ constitutional right to bear arms.

Attorney Tony Aiello Jr. of Tyler Smith & Associates in Canby filed the final reply brief this week on behalf of Joseph Arnold and Cliff Asmussen, petitioners in the case Arnold v. Kotek, along with organizational plaintiffs Gun Owners of America Inc. and the Gun Owners Foundation.

Aiello said Tuesday in a post announcing the filing:

“What started in one of Oregon’s least populated counties has now made it to the Oregon Supreme Court. With briefing done, all that’s left is oral argument and whatever post-decision work there is to do.”

The case began in Harney County Circuit Court, where Judge Robert S. Raschio ruled that Measure 114 violated Article I, Section 27 of the Oregon Constitution, which guarantees the right to bear arms. The Oregon Court of Appeals later reversed that decision, setting the stage for the upcoming high court hearing under case number S071885.

At Issue: What Measure 114 Does

Approved by voters in November 2022, Ballot Measure 114, also known as the Reduction of Gun Violence Act, creates two major restrictions:

1. A permit-to-purchase requirement, which would require anyone buying a firearm to complete a background check, provide fingerprints and a photo identification, complete safety training, and obtain a police-issued permit.

2. A ban on magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition, with limited exceptions for law enforcement and military personnel.

The measure has never gone into effect following a statewide injunction issued by the Harney County court in December 2022.

Supporters say the law is a necessary step to curb gun violence and reduce the risk of mass shootings. Opponents, including several Oregon sheriffs and national gun rights groups, argue that it violates the Oregon Constitution by placing excessive hurdles between citizens and their right to own firearms.

Petitioners’ Arguments

In their Reply Brief filed October 8, Aiello and co-counsel Tyler Smith urge the Supreme Court to strike down Measure 114’s magazine ban and permit system. The filing argues that both provisions “unduly frustrate the right to bear arms guaranteed by Article I, Section 27,” citing decades of Oregon precedent beginning with State v. Kessler (1980), State v. Blocker (1981), and State v. Delgado (1984).

Those rulings established that the Legislature may regulate how arms are used but cannot impose total bans on possession of commonly used weapons. Aiello’s filing contends Measure 114 crosses that line, describing it as a law that “forces Oregonians to prove their worthiness before exercising a right.”

The petitioners also argue that so-called “large-capacity magazines” are historically protected arms, pointing to 18th- and 19th-century repeating firearms capable of firing ten or more rounds, technology that was known to Oregon’s 1859 constitutional drafters. “The framers were aware that technological changes were occurring in weaponry and drafted Article I, Section 27 to protect modern arms of the same kind,” the brief states.

The State of Oregon, represented by Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s office, maintains that Measure 114 is a lawful and reasonable public safety measure consistent with the state’s constitution.

A Case Years in the Making

Aiello said the October 8 filing brings the written phase of the litigation to a close.

“It’s weird to feel finished,” he wrote. “While the work is not ‘done,’ this is likely the last writing on the merits of Ballot Measure 114 we will submit. Everything else will involve closing the case after the decision.”

He noted that by the time oral arguments begin in November, he will have dedicated three years of his career to the case.

What Comes Next

The Oregon Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on November 6, 2025, and a decision is expected sometime in 2026. The ruling will determine whether Measure 114’s restrictions can be implemented or whether they violate the Oregon Constitution, setting a statewide precedent for how Oregon interprets its right to bear arms independently of the federal Second Amendment.

Until that ruling, Measure 114 remains on hold statewide.

Supporters of the challenge continue to raise funds through GiveSendGo at https://givesendgo.com/StateCourt_StopMeasure114, and the full reply brief can be read at https://ruralbusinessattorneys.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PETITIONERS-REPLY-BRIEF.pdf.