As previously reported, House Bill 4147 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee with the -8 amendments on February 11. Tomorrow, HB 4147 is scheduled for its final vote in the House of Representatives. It is imperative that you contact your state Representative immediately to voice your strong opposition to HB 4147!
Under current state law, indefinite delays on firearm transfers are prevented by a small safeguard which allows federal firearms dealers (FFL) to release a firearm after three days if the Oregon State Police (OSP) are unable to determine whether a recipient is prohibited from possessing a firearm. A deferral from OSP does not necessarily mean the recipient is prohibited, but rather that OSP is not satisfied with the background check inquiry and a determination has not yet been made. With the new amendments, under HB 4147, if after 10 business days an FFL has not received a determination from OSP, the FFL may release the firearm to a transferee at the dealers discretion. In reality, transfers could be delayed up to 15 days due to weekends and holidays. There’s absolutely no reason why OSP should need 10 days, nevertheless 15, to determine whether an individual is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Further, the amendment attempts to address one of the many flaws of Senate Bill 941, which passed the Legislative Assembly and was signed into law in 2015. As previously reported, this misguided legislation included nail guns and boating flares in the definition of firearms.
Once again, please contact your state Representative immediately to voice your strong opposition to House Bill 4147!
Please forward this email to friends, family and fellow Second Amendment supporters in Oregon and encourage them to do the same.