Parts of the bill have already been found to be unconstitutional
Aovernor Tina Kotek has signed
HB 2005 into law. The new law tries to prohibit so-called "ghost guns" that have parts that don't bear a serial number. Legal sources think that this includes currently held firearms, which makes an unknown number of Oregon citizens instant felons.
The use of "ghost guns" in crimes has been the subject of much discussion and peddling of questionable statistics. According the the
Washington Times they are rarely used in crimes. "In Chicago, for example, only 139 out of the 11,258 firearms seized last year -- roughly 1.2% -- were ghost guns. That number, however, represents a 93% increase from the 72 ghost guns seized in 2019. Philadelphia police in 2019 seized 95 ghost guns, accounting for 2.2% of the 4,264 guns they confiscated. In 2018, Philadelphia police confiscated 13 ghost guns."
According to sources, federal officials don't make a distinction between personally manufactured firearms -- which don't have a serial number and never needed them -- and commercially manufactured firearms which have had the serial number removed. "Ghost guns" would only be a subset of these statistics.
Senator James Manning lauded the bill, saying, “After years of work, my colleagues and I also took action on ghost guns with
HB 2005. Ghost guns are unserialized and undetectable, making them the gun of choice for gun traffickers, violent criminals, and people legally prohibited from buying firearms.â€
Oregon Firearms Federation Director Kevin Starrett raised expectations for House Republicans, who have pledged $25,000 to fight this legislation in court. "Now is the time for the House Republicans to put their money where their mouths were. This is totally on them and we fully expect them to keep their word. They have made a pledge, they helped the bill pass by showing up when they could have walked out. The ball is in their court."
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Representative Tracy Cramer (R-Woodburn) pointed out that "
HB 2005 restricts the rights of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves in public spaces. Those who are most vulnerable to being harmed by violent crime are the ones who need this right the most. Those are my constituents. Yet,
HB 2005 unconstitutionally restricts when and where they can protect themselves with a firearm."
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2023-07-14 09:42:23 | Last Update: 2023-07-15 21:03:18 |
