Oregon House passes slew of gun control measures

Oregon is one step closer to enacting further gun control measures.

The Oregon House of Representatives passed a gun control package (House Bill 2005) on a party-line vote on Tuesday, 35-24. Democrats supported the measure, while Republicans opposed it.

The bill would ban "ghost guns," raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 years old to purchase handguns and semiautomatic weapons, establish a three-day waiting period for new firearm purchases, and would give local governments the authority to ban firearms in public buildings.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum cheered the House's decision to vote in favor of the bill. She said that she would like to see the bill become law soon.

“This is my 4th session requesting we ban ‘ghost guns’ — and I sincerely hope the 4th time’s a charm!” Rosenblum said in a press release. “All guns must have serial numbers so they can be traced by law enforcement when used in crimes. And all guns must be able to be detected by security systems. I commend Speaker Rayfield and the legislative sponsors of HB 2005 for moving this important set of policies forward. This bill supports law enforcement in their investigative efforts and will help ensure that these deadly weapons are not readily available to those who cannot pass a background check.”

Republicans argued that the proposal is unconstitutional.

“The state will get sued, the state will lose, and taxpayers will foot the bill,” state representative. Mark Owens, R-Crane, said on the House floor, according to Oregon Capital Chronicle.

The bill has not yet come up for a vote in the state Senate.