House Votes to Close Background Check Loophole for All Gun Sales

SB 941 increases safety for Oregon families

SALEM – Today, the Oregon House of Representatives voted 32-28 to close a loophole that allows dangerous individuals to acquire firearms. Senate Bill 941, the Oregon Firearms Safety Act, will require background checks for private guns sales, including those that have proliferated over the internet in recent years.

“We know that background checks work,” says Rep. Jennifer Williamson (D-Portland), who carried the bill on the floor. “We know that in states already requiring background checks on private gun sales there are fewer women killed by intimate partners, fewer law enforcement officers shot protecting our communities, and lower rates of gun trafficking.”

Currently, gun owners are required to undergo a background check when buying a firearm from a licensed dealer and at gun shows, but not in person-to-person sales. Recently, a large gun market has developed over the Internet, allowing anyone to purchase a gun and bypass the criminal background check requirement.

In the states already requiring background checks on all gun sales, three key statistics stand out:

48% fewer law enforcement officers are killed with handguns
48% fewer people kill themselves with guns
And 46% fewer women are shot to death by their intimate partners. For women living in domestic violence situations, their likelihood of being killed by their partner increases dramatically if there is a firearm in the house.

"Support for the Second Amendment goes hand in hand with keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people. That’s why federal and state law prohibits felons, domestic abusers, seriously mentally ill people, and certain other dangerous people from buying or possessing guns,” says Rep. Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis). “Background checks are the most systematic way to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.”

The bill now moves to Governor Brown’s desk for her signature.

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Scott Moore

Communications Director

House Majority Office

Office: 503-986-1904

Cell: 503-961-2374