SB 797 VOTE:NO – Died in Committee
Status (overview) of bill:https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Measures/Overview/SB797
This bill prohibits person from purchasing a firearm if the Oregon State Police background check unit is unable or unwilling to provide approval pursuant to background check. This bill is the senate equivalent of HB 2237.
Personal Choice and Responsibility
About 1% of background checks run by the OSP result in a denial or a delay, some 2,000 out of the 200,000+ checks per year currently. According to OSP statistics, about 98% of those 2,000 delayed are not prohibited persons according to the law, but there is some paperwork issue that needs to be cleared up which caused them to be flagged during the check. Many times these are simply clerical errors. The agencies involved currently have 3 days to resolve the question (1 day Oregon law, 3 days Federal so effectively 3), and if they do not the sale can proceed. That protection was enacted along with the National instant background check law in the 1990s so that someone could not be delayed inordinately by failure of government. This bill would remove that protection, leaving the person without the ability to exercise their constitutional right to purchase and possess a firearm for as long as the OSP and any other agency involved fail to perform their tasks. This is very clearly a denial of a clearly defined and enumerated constitutional right by government of those 98% who are not prohibited people.
Limited Government
The Oregon State Police background check unit would become empowered to permanently deny the exercise of constitutional rights to people not guilty of or even charged with any crime.
What’s the buzz?