On Tuesday, 34-year old Eugene resident Adam Edward Braun pleaded guilty to three federal hate crime charges for vandalizing the Temple Beth Synagogue on four different occasions in 2023 and 2024.

Braun repeatedly vandalized Temple Beth starting in August 2023. He did it again in September 2023, four days after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 11, 2023, and in January 2024. 

Some of the vandalism included antisemitic symbols.

In the final January incident, prosecutors said that Braun went to the synagogue with a hammer prepared to hit glass doors at the entrance of the synagogue until he realized that there was a security camera. Braun instead used spray paint to write “white power” on the outside of the synagogue. 

Braun faces up to a year in jail for the three federal hate crime charges.

The post Hate crime vandal of Eugene Temple Beth Israel pleads guilty to federal charges appeared first on Daily Emerald.

On Oct. 29, a lawyer for the Oregon Department of Justice asked the Oregon Court of Appeals to allow Measure 114, a gun control measure Oregon voters narrowly approved in 2022, to take effect.

Measure 114, currently stalled in court, would require a firearm safety course and a permit to purchase a firearm in Oregon. It also would ban the sale or transfer of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and close the “Charleston Loophole,” which allows firearm dealers to release a firearm to a buyer after three days if their background check has not yet cleared.

The measure has been stalled in court because the plaintiffs, two Harney County gun owners, argue that it violates the Oregon State Constitution.

In oral arguments, Oregon Senior Assistant Attorney General Robert Koch called the current case stalling the measure a “facial challenge” of the constitutionality of Measure 114.

“It’s important to emphasize at the outset that this is a facial challenge to the constitutionality of Ballot Measure 114. Plaintiffs thus bear the heavy burden to show that the law cannot be constitutionally applied in any scenario,” Koch said in oral arguments. “Plaintiffs have failed to do so. That’s because under the law, Oregonians remain free to use magazines with a capacity of 10 or fewer rounds. Anyone with a permit can initiate a firearm transfer, and anyone whose background check has cleared is free to complete their firearm transfer.”

According to the recently decided Moody v. NetChoice Supreme Court case, facial challenges are harder to prove and have to be more unconstitutional than constitutional for a challenging party to win in court.

Attorney Tony L. Aiello Jr. represents the two Harney County gun owners who are holding the implementation of Measure 114 in court. He said that the measure is unconstitutional under Article I, Section 27 of the Oregon State Constitution because the measure is not aimed at any dangerous practices.

“Most laws are not like this law,” Aiello said in oral arguments. “They are specifically aimed at dangerous practices … that are recognized historically as dangerous, such as concealed carry … (or) firing (guns) within towns … they exclude self-defense as a matter of law.”

In an interview with the Emerald, Aiello said that Measure 114’s restrictions, like the high-capacity magazine ban, are a disproportionate response to the issue of mass shootings.

“The large capacity magazine ban is aimed at reducing mass shootings, which in our nation’s history, there have been 179 as testified to by [the state’s] expert at trial. Two of those have occurred in Oregon,” Aiello said. “So you’re restricting a lot of modern firearms … to address a problem that, while serious when it occurs, is a disproportionate response to that problem.”

Aiello said that in self-defense scenarios, particularly with animals, having as many rounds as possible is necessary.

“How many rounds would you like to have if you were facing three to four wolves? I would want to have as many as possible, as many as I can carry, to make sure I’m prepared for that self-defense scenario,” Aiello said.

University of Oregon Professor McKay Sohlberg said she supports Measure 114 and is disappointed that the measure is currently held up in court. Her husband died by firearm suicide in 2011. She said that the more comprehensive background check that Measure 114 would implement would
have saved her husband’s life.

“My husband would have been here to walk my three daughters down the aisle with me,” Scholberg said. “He would have been able … to spend time with our three granddaughters.”

So far, there is no indication yet when the appellate justices will hold additional sessions on the case or issue an opinion. Until they or a higher court issue an injunction, Measure 114 cannot be implemented.

Editor’s note: On campus, the University Health Services provides free counseling for all students and an After-Hours Support and Crisis Line at
541-346-3227.

Off campus, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available via phone or text at 988 or online at 988lifeline.org.

The post Oregon Court of Appeals hears first oral arguments on Measure 114 appeared first on Daily Emerald.

Measure 117 ranked choice results: 

Updated 10:31 p.m.

Measure 117, which aimed to implement ranked choice voting for federal and statewide races starting in 2028, has failed. Partial results as of 10:30 p.m. failing with nearly 60% of voters opposed.

In the proposed ranked choice voting system, voters would have voted for multiple candidates by ranking them in the order of their preference. 

Updated 8:49 p.m.

Current results for Ballot Measure 117 show the measure is poised to fail.  

Partial results Tuesday as of 8:30 p.m. showed the measure close to failing with nearly 60% of voters opposed.

Measure 118 statewide basic income results: 

Updated 10:30 p.m.

Measure 118, which would have increased the minimum tax on corporations, has failed. Partial results as of 10:30 p.m. show the measure failing with nearly 80% of voters opposed. 

The measure also would have distributed the revenue from the tax to eligible Oregon residents. Under the measure, corporations collecting more than $25 million in sales would have faced an additional 3% tax on their sales that exceed $25 million.

Those who opposed the measure included U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Intel and Nike. 

Updated 8:49 p.m.

Partial results Tuesday as of 8:30 p.m. showed the measure failing with nearly 79% of voters opposed. 

Measure 119 cannabis worker unionization results: 

Updated 10:40 p.m.

Measure 119, which requires cannabis businesses to have a “labor peace agreement,” has passed. Partial results as of 10:30 p.m. show the measure passing with 55% of Oregon voters supporting it.  

The measure would require cannabis businesses and laboratories to have a “labor peace agreement” in place in order to receive or renew a license from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. Under the measure, this means that cannabis businesses would have to agree not to intervene with union organizing efforts if their employees decide or attempt to unionize.

Updated 8:32 p.m.

Oregon voters on Tuesday appeared likely to pass Measure 119.

Partial results Tuesday as of 8:15 p.m. showed the measure leading 56% to 44%.

Eugene Springfield Fire responded to a gas leak in a cafe that forced the evacuation of the Market District Commons Apartments for two hours early Friday morning.

According to a press release, firefighters arrived on the scene at 12:59 a.m. responding to reports of a gas smell coming out of a cafe below the apartment complex. 

Eugene Springfield Fire spokesperson Janel Klews said in an email statement to the Emerald that the gas leak occurred at the Jazzy Ladies Cafe & Club.

Upon arriving on the scene, first responders assessed if there was a threat to the residents in the apartments above before checking the cafe’s gas leak. 

Crews found gas in the apartments above and evacuated the building.    

The Eugene Police Department and Eugene Springfield Fire evacuated the apartment complex, while truck crews forced their way into the cafe and addressed the gas leak.

After ventilating the building, firefighters determined that the building was safe and residents returned. No injuries were reported. 

While crews worked to make the building safe, residents stayed at the Gordon Hotel. 

“We appreciate Eugene Police for their support on this incident and want to recognize the Gordon Hotel for providing a safe space to house evacuees,” Eugene Springfield Fire said in the press release.