NEW BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENTS. FEDERAL CONTROL OF HANDGUN LICENSES?
Persons attempting to purchase firearms in Oregon have recently been facing new and more intrusive background checks.
The Oregon State Police have been instructed by the FBI to do more extensive checks on buyers in an attempt to find more people guilty of crimes of “domestic violence.”
As a result many, many purchasers are facing long delays . Often, people in possession of concealed handgun licenses are being needlessly delayed in spite of their obvious qualifications.
Buyers should, however, be aware of Oregon law 166.412.
In section 3(c) it states: “If the department fails to provide a unique approval number to a gun dealer or to notify the gun dealer that the purchaser is disqualified under paragraph (a) of this subsection before the close of the gun dealer’s next business day following the request by the dealer for a criminal history record check, the dealer may deliver the handgun to the purchaser.”
If you believe you have been wrongly delayed and are willing to share your experience, please send us a note describing what happened.
On another issue, you may have heard about a bill being promoted by Senator George Allen of Virginia. The bill’s (S. 3275) purpose is to mandate, Federally, a recognition of concealed handgun licenses. You can read the text of the bill here.
While we obviously support the goal, we think this bill could prove to be far more dangerous than helpful. As we are learning by our experience with the FBI’s meddling in Oregon’s background checks, once the Federal government gets involved, the danger of new restrictions, on top of existing state restrictions becomes immense.
While the bill has the support of the National Rifle Association, you’ll recall that the bill they heavily promoted (and passed) concerning immunity for gun dealers, came at the cost of dangerous new gun controls.
The last thing Oregon gun owner’s need are New York style mandates brought on by “national standards.”
Allen is reportedly planning a run for President, and needs to hear from gun owners that interstate recognition is a state matter, and the Feds should keep out of it. As more and more states are recognizing other’s licenses, this bill is dangerous and unneeded.
E-mails can be sent directly to Allen’s staff at this address and you can bypass the webform on his website. For more on the potential dangers of this bill, please read the commentary by Andy Barniskis here.