Group wants to allow concealed handguns without permit

kerryinbox
Mar 6, 2023
2 min read

Former Baker City Mayor Kerry McQuisten is one of three chief petitioners in a campaign to give Oregon voters a chance to amend the state constitution to allow people to carry a concealed gun without a permit. The petitioners filed a prospective petition last week in Salem. Their goal is to put the matter on the November 2024 ballot.

“We’ve watched so many over the top gun-grab attempts in Oregon erode our Second Amendment rights,” McQuisten said in a press release. “We shouldn’t be asking permission from the government to protect ourselves.” Oregon allows residents to carry a concealed handgun, but only if they obtain a permit through a county sheriff’s office. The constitutional amendment that McQuisten and the other petitioners are proposing would make Oregon a “constitutional carry” state.

Oregon would join 25 other states, including Idaho, with that legal status. Carrying a handgun that’s openly displayed does not require a permit in Oregon. After the Secretary of State’s office approves the petition, McQuisten and the other petitioners could begin collecting the 1,000 sponsorship signatures needed to receive a prospective ballot title.

After that, the group would need to gather more than 160,000 signatures from registered Oregon voters to qualify the measure for the 2024 ballot. “Gathering this many signatures is a daunting task,” said Jean Sampson, one of the chief petitioners. “But I think Oregonians are ready for this change in the same way that more than half of our U.S. states have been.” The third chief petitioner is Joel Pawloski, chair of the Marion County Republicans.

“Constitutional carry is an important right for the safety and security of all Oregonians,” Pawloski said. “The failures of leadership in Oregon are endemic. With ballot initiatives, the people of Oregon act as our own legislators under the Oregon Constitution, and it’s time we take the lead on this subject.”