Oregon assault weapons ban petitioners submit signatures

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Petitioners for an initiative that would restrict the sale of assault weapons in Oregon have submitted some of the signatures necessary to make the November ballot.

If the batch submitted Monday in Salem includes at least 1,000 valid signatures, the attorney general will begin the ballot title drafting process. Petitioners must ultimately submit 88,184 signatures by July 6.

The initiative opposed by conservatives will likely be appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court, and petitioners cannot gather signatures during an appeal.

Penny Okamoto, executive director of Ceasefire Oregon, tells the Statesman Journal she’s concerned a months-long legal review will leave too little time to collect signatures.

Okamoto says if they fail to make this year’s ballot, supporters of the ban will push for it during the next legislative session. If that fails, they will try for the 2020 ballot.

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Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com