SPRINGFIELD, Ore., -- A meeting will be held Thursday night at Willamalane Park in opposition of Initiative 43, which would ban assault weapons in Oregon.

The organizer of the event, Derek LeBlanc, said he hopes to start a discussion about how the initiative would impact residents.

This comes as the initiative is gaining momentum across the state. It would ban the sale of all assault weapons in the state and would require anyone possessing one of the guns to sell or surrender them unless they register them first.

LeBlanc said the meeting isn't political. He said he wants to have space where people can come together to find common ground.

"My goal tonight is to be able to offer my insight and my input and hopefully steer the conversation in a positive way," LeBlanc said. "And to show how important it is that we do open our minds and close our mouths for a moment and listen to other people and other points of view, and come up with a constructive way to actually make a difference and save lives."

Right now, the initiative has received 3,500 signatures. If they are verified, only 2,000 of them will count due to initial signature requirements set out by the state. The petition will still need a total of about 88,000 signatures by June in order for it to appear on the November ballot.