This session Oregon lawmakers will consider House Bill 3076, a new bill that includes gun safety provisions. (Getty Images)
Public safety remains a top concern for Oregonians, particularly as gun-related violence has escalated across the state.
Firearm homicide in Oregon has increased 172% over the past decade, a trend accompanied by a rise in the number of firearms associated with crime.
“Portland is just awash in guns in the hands of the wrong people,” Oregon FBI special agent Kieran Ramsey told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
It’s clear that Oregon needs to take stronger action to safeguard its communities. One vital step toward preventing gun tragedies, while respecting responsible gun ownership, would be the implementation of state-based gun dealer licensing and regulation in the 2025 Oregon legislative session, which starts this Tuesday.
As it stands, the federal government licenses and is supposed to regularly inspect gun dealers; however, the system is vastly under-resourced and lacks enforcement, allowing bad actors to operate without consequences. A federally licensed gun dealer is inspected on average once every 10 years. The result is an overflow of illegal guns in our communities, used in violent crime. Guns used in crimes are also called crime guns.
The Alliance for a Safe Oregon recently released a data report analyzing what is causing the proliferation of crime guns in Oregon. In our analysis, we found that between 2017 and 2021, law enforcement traced 74% of crime guns in Oregon to in-state dealers. On the other hand, in New Jersey, which has strong state-based licensing and regulation of gun dealers, only 18% of traced crime guns were purchased in the state.
Overall, Oregon law enforcement finds nearly three times as many crime guns per capita than New Jersey. This analysis tells us gun dealers are positioned to play a key role in preventing community gun violence.
Oregon’s crime guns appear to enter the illegal market through several channels, including straw purchases, thefts from dealers, and even collusion by a small fraction of dealers, according to our analysis. In one example, 64 firearms purchased through straw sales were trafficked to gang members in the Portland area between April 2020 and September 2021. Edward Charles Green legally bought 64 firearms from gun dealers, which were then sold or traded to local Blood gang members. Only 12 of the firearms have been recovered. Green often bought multiple guns at once, a sign of firearm trafficking, including 46 firearms from a single dealer.
The weakness in federal oversight and the total lack of state-level oversight are contributing to similar disturbing patterns every day. Perhaps most importantly, evidence shows that gun dealers who follow national best practices have almost zero guns that end up in crime.
Polling data show a majority of Oregonians are supportive of gun dealer inspections, safe storage of inventory, training and employee background checks. This support is consistent with Oregon’s strong tradition of both responsible gun ownership and meaningful laws to protect community safety.
This session, lawmakers will consider House Bill 3076, crafted to protect our communities and ensure that dealers have the tools and education to help stem the overflow of guns in our communities.
The bill would establish a range of provision, including state-based licensing and annual reporting, inventory control with tracking and reporting, employee background checks and training and mandated secure storage and other security practices.
Fifteen states have already implemented similar laws, and the evidence shows they are working. Strong state-based licensing and regulations of gun dealers are associated with a 36% reduction in firearm homicides.
All of us deserve to be safe in our homes and neighborhoods, regardless of what we look like or where we live. Oregon must act with urgency to stop the flow of illegal guns on our streets.