Linn County Sheriff rips Initiative Petition 43, which seeks to ban assault weapons

ALBANY, Ore. -- A mid-Willamette Valley sheriff is coming out against an initiative petition in Oregon that seeks to place a ban on assault weapons.

The issue is Initiative Petition 43 (IP-43).

Linn County Sheriff Bruce Riley spoke at length Thursday with KVAL's Tom Adams about his position on the measure.

IP-43 is spearheaded by a Portland-area interfaith group and would ban possession of assault rifles and high capacity magazines, except if the weapons are registered with the state police.

Sheriff Riley says the initiative is a bad idea. He issued a written statement Tuesday about IP-43, responding, he says, to questions from constituents on the measure.

Riley calls IP-43 a "feel good" law that won't make the schools or malls or churches any safer, adding if IP-43 becomes law, "Which I don't think it will, but if it were to pass, it's going to make an awful lot of my constituents who are good, law abiding people...it's going to turn them into felons."

Backers of the measure have until July 6 to collect around 88,000 valid voter signatures to get IP-43 on a future ballot.

Sheriff Riley says he's speaking for himself on the hot-button issue.