Oregon interfaith leaders declare win in gun control vote
Mark Knutson, right, chief petitioner of a gun initiative, speaks at a rally, joined by Rabbi Michael Cahana, center, outside the Oregon state Capitol on July 8, before signatures are delivered to elections officials to get the proposal on the ballot. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky,File)
For Mark Knutson, securing the necessary signatures this summer to get one of the country’s strictest gun control measures on the Oregon midterm ballot was an accomplishment on its own. Now, he and other proponents are declaring it a historic victory.
“We are celebrating a victory for our children and youth and high school students,” said Knutson, a chief petitioner of the gun safety initiative and senior pastor of Augustana Lutheran Church in Portland.
Election results so far show Measure 114 leading by a narrow margin of 51 percent to 49 percent. The Oregonian declared the passage of the measure on November 9. The Associated Press has yet to call it.
