Oregon Gun Law: Reduction of Gun Violence Act
The majority of households in Oregon own a firearm and you may be one of the 900,000 residents of the state that are law-abiding gun owners. Taking effect on December 8, 2022, the “Reduction of Gun Violence Act” may affect your future weapons purchases. We’ll cover specifics of the new Oregon gun law, Ballot Measure 114, which:
- Will ban the transfer of firearms without a permit.
- Ban magazines greater than 10 rounds.
- Require state police to maintain an electronically searchable database of any gun owners who purchase in the state of Oregon after December 8, 2022.
In this write-up, you’ll get many details and important news about gun laws in Oregon and how they could impact you.
Table of Contents
Does Oregon Have Strict Gun Laws?
Yes, Oregon’s Ballot Measure 114 is “the nation’s most extreme gun control initiative” as voiced by the NRA. In this specific Oregon firearm law, you will be restricted from the transfer of a firearm until you pass several checks and classes (details below). This strict gun law was passed by a narrow margin, obtaining just 50.7% of the vote. Also, known as the “Reduction of Gun Violence Act”, you may be wondering: when does Oregon Measure 114 take effect? This was scheduled to go into effect on December 8, 2022. On December 6, 2022, a circuit court judge delayed the implementation, shortly before the strict gun law was to take effect. This decision paused other permit processes and magazine restrictions for 30 days.
Oregonians Will be Required To Obtain A Permit For All Guns
Credit: @sliceoforegon
Prior to these new gun control laws, Oregonians could purchase a firearm if they met the following requirements: being over the age of 18, and having no convictions for felonies nor violent crimes. After the new Oregon gun laws take place, residents will be required to apply for a state-issued permit to purchase a firearm. To obtain this permit, citizens of the Beaver State will need to complete a state-approved gun course, pay a fee, and pass an additional background check. This permit will need to be renewed every 5 years.
Adding to the inconvenience of these additional steps, there is currently no provision that requires a certain number of classes to be scheduled. For example: on March 10th, 2023 you may decide to purchase a pistol, and you’ll apply for the Oregon gun permit, but the required state-run gun class may not be scheduled until May, August, or November. During that time, you will not be able to utilize that firearm. At the time of this writing, there is no published pricing for the course. While you are in the application process, law enforcement may withhold the permit and even after it’s issued, they may revoke permits at their discretion.
An additional hurdle you will have to overcome is getting the permit, even after you’ve completed all of the required steps. At the time of this writing, Oregon law enforcement does not have the means to issue these documents: “necessary pieces of the permit-to-purchase system will not be in place” said Senior Assistant Attorney General Brian Simmonds Marshall. This means as of December 8, 2022, gun sales could be halted in Oregon, impeding the right to bear arms for residents of the state. This may also have a large impact in an economic recession for local businesses in the firearms community. There were nearly 340,000 firearms sold in Oregon in 2021, so the fiscal impact could be devasting.
Magazine Ban to Affect Oregon
Credit: @magpul
US gun control is becoming particularly extreme in Oregon. Prior to Oregon’s recent gun legislation, there were no restrictions on firearms magazines or their capacity. As written in Ballot Measure 114, the sale, possession, and manufacturing of magazines greater than 10 rounds will be banned in the Beaver State. The latest gun laws in Oregon also enact “magazine buybacks” whereby residents can voluntarily surrender their existing magazines to law enforcement without a penalty. Some police departments in Oregon are calling this measure “a terrible law for gun owners, crime victims, and public safety” said Linn County Sheriff Duncan, the sheriff went on to say “I want to send a clear message to Linn County residents that the Linn County Sheriff’s Office is NOT going to be enforcing magazine capacity limits.” Many Oregon PDs are asking for a delay, or repeal of the measure as well. They cite confusion of process for the law, the need for additional personnel, and other infrastructure and staffing challenges. In a case of unequal rights, law enforcement and military departments are exempt from this magazine ban.
Gun Owners in Oregon May Be On A Registry
If enacted as planned, the Reduction of Gun Violence act may put gun owners in Oregon on a registry. State law enforcement will capture your personal information and archive these details in an electronically searchable registry of all new gun owners. These government records will contain your demographic information (age, height, weight), fingerprints, photos, and home address. This Oregon gun registry will be published annually, a theoretical situation could include your home being targeted by a person who wants to steal a firearm or the government or law enforcement could use this list for door-to-door confiscation.
Does Measure 114 Affect Suppressor Ownership in Oregon?
Credit: @deadairsilencers
Suppressor ownership is legal in Oregon for purposes including hunting, target shooting, etc. If you currently have an NFA tax stamp or will obtain one in the future, you can continue to do so, unchanged.
Protect Your 2A Rights
credit: @715_tactical
To protect the second amendment rights of Oregonians, there are currently 3 lawsuits to overturn Ballot Measure 114. This litigation is being spearheaded by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF), and the Oregon Firearms Federation (OFF). Many Oregonians are asking, is Oregon measure 114 constitutional? “Oregon's Measure 114 is blatantly unconstitutional,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF's Senior Vice President and General Counsel. By contrast, the Department of Justice maintains Measure 114′s provisions are constitutional. Each of the lawsuits brought by these groups alleges that parts of the measure are unconstitutional, citing the requirement to pay for a permit and that magazine bans as a restriction on “the right to bear arms” in Oregon. Considering supporting these organizations if you’d like to combat continually restrictive gun control laws in the US.
Conclusion
More than 50% of Oregon households have a firearm and Ballot Measure 114 could be an ifringement for current gun owners and future gun owners as well. One of the most restrictive gun control laws in recent memory, this legislation attacks the rights of Oregon’s citizens, which are enshrined in the constitution. Ballot Measure 114 could cease firearms transfers until a new permitting system can be developed, bans magazines with greater than 10 round capacity, and would create an electronically searchable registry of every permit holder in the state. With pending litigation from advocacy groups, there is potential to remedy these hinderances.
