LEVO’S HISTORY
OF ADVOCACY
AND ACTION

Our Story

After the massacre of 20 first-graders and six adult staff members in Sandy Hook in 2012, a group of faith leaders in Oregon, including Rev. Dr. Mark Knutson, committed to pursuing an end to these senseless actions.

On February 14, 2018, when 17 students were killed and 17 more injured at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, that commitment evolved into concrete action. LEVO was formed.

A small coalition of faith leaders grew into a larger one from Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and many other traditions, as well as people of goodwill who also support strong gun safety laws, that hold high the value of human life and oppose violent means for resolving conflict.

The name “Lift Every Voice Oregon” draws upon a poem and song of those who have suffered oppression in many forms from slavery to discriminatory treatment in every manner, but persevere as they seek change. Our decisions and actions are guided by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Six Principles of Non-Violence. We seek to engage those who may believe all gun regulation is unnecessary, in order to bring about change through peaceful dialogue and interaction. They are not the enemy. Gun violence is the enemy and it must end.

They are not the enemy. Gun violence is the enemy and it must end.

Our Partners and Endorsements

LEVO continues to work toward full implementation of Measure 114, which we expect in 2024. We thank all volunteers, supporters, and voters for helping to make Oregon safer.

There’s still more to be done – won’t you join with us?

2018

LEVO tried to qualify Measure 43 for the Oregon ballot to ban the sale and manufacture of large-capacity magazines and assault weapons. Due to over 1,000 challenges, the largest number ever in Oregon, LEVO did not receive an approved ballot title in time to even launch the signature gathering necessary to qualify for the ballot.

2019

LEVO presented similar measures to the legislature in 2019 but was unable to get a hearing.

2020

LEVO filed three initiative petitions (IP 60, 61, and 62) and obtained certified ballot titles on each just as the covid pandemic began to spread. Deciding not to ask volunteers to risk their health by collecting signatures, LEVO used the time to work on two initiative petitions (IP17 and IP18) for the 2022 ballot.

2021-2022

While covid lingered in the fall of 2021 and winter of 2022, LEVO collected signatures wearing masks and using other precautions as necessary. About 600 volunteers diligently collected signatures through the spring of 2022 and LEVO hired a small group of paid gatherers, as the deadline of July 8, 2022 approached.

May 2022

On May 16th, 2022 a mass shooter killed 10 and injured 3 in a Buffalo supermarket. On May 24th, a mass shooter killed 19 third and fourth graders and two teachers in an elementary school in Uvalde. These two shocking events spurred hundreds of Oregonians to contact LEVO asking “how can we help?”

The LEVO office mailed and delivered signature-gathering materials to virtually every part of the state within two weeks of the May shootings. By July 8 we had over 161,000 signatures to turn in to the Secretary of State’s office; over 75% were collected by volunteers.

July 2022

After the initiative qualified for the Nov. 2022 ballot, LEVO was joined by regional and national gun-safety groups, including the Alliance for Gun Safety, Everytown, Mom’s Demand Action, and Giffords Law Center, as well civil rights groups and employee unions.