A voter-approved Oregon gun control law violates the state constitution, a judge ruled Tuesday, continuing to block it from taking effect and casting fresh doubt over the future of the embattled measure.
The law requires people to undergo a criminal background check and complete a gun safety training course in order to obtain a permit to buy a firearm. It also bans high-capacity magazines.
The plaintiffs in the federal case, which include the Oregon Firearms Federation, have appealed the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case could potentially go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Oregon law is saying that you need a permit to BUY, and that’s where it’s butting heads with the constitution. Everyone who is legal has the right to keep and bear arms, the state can’t interfere with that.
The blockage on felons is a federal restriction, not a state restriction, it’s part of the FFL form you fill out when you buy a gun and is part of the background check.
Felon in possession is it’s own crime, so obviously that’s going to be blocked at point of sale.
The list of disqualifying questions on the firearms form is interesting, it would be nice if more people read it:
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/4473-part-1-firearms-transaction-record-over-counter-atf-form-53009/download
a. Are you the actual transferee/buyer of all of the firearm(s) listed on this form and any continuation sheet(s) (ATF Form 5300.9A)?
Warning: You are not the actual transferee/buyer if you are acquiring any of the firearm(s) on behalf of another person. If you are not the actual transferee/buyer, the licensee cannot transfer any of the firearm(s) to you. Exception: If you are only picking up a repaired firearm(s) for another person, you are not required to answer 21.a. and may proceed to question 21.b.
b. Do you intend to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm listed on this form and any continuation sheet(s) in furtherance of any felony or other offense punishable by imprisonment for a term of more than one year, a Federal crime of terrorism, or a drug trafficking offense?
c. Are you under indictment or information in any court for a felony, or any other crime for which the judge could imprison you for more than one year, or are you a current member of the military who has been charged with violation(s) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and whose charge(s) have been referred to a general court-martial?
d. Have you ever been convicted in any court, including a military court, of a felony, or any other crime for which the judge could have imprisoned you for more than one year, even if you received a shorter sentence including probation?
e. Are you a fugitive from justice?
f. Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.
g. Have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective OR have you ever been committed to a mental institution?
h. Have you ever been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions?
i. Are you subject to a court order, including a Military Protection Order issued by a military judge or magistrate, restraining you from harassing, stalking, or threatening your child or an intimate partner or child of such partner?
j. Have you ever been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, or are you or have you ever been a member of the military and been convicted of a crime that included, as an element, the use of force against a person as identified in the instructions?
k. Have you ever renounced your United States citizenship?
l. Are you an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States?
m.1. Are you an alien who has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa?
m.2. If you answered “Yes” to question 21.m.1, do you fall within any of the exceptions stated in the instructions?
n. Do you intend to sell or dispose of any firearm(s) listed on this form or any continuation sheet(s) to any person described in questions 21(b)-(l) or to a person described in question 21.m.1 who does not fall within a nonimmigrant alien exception?
Sorry, I took a more international route with the terminology: I meant state as in The State, not an individual state in the USA. Federal laws restricting the purchase of a firearm is IMHO the State interfering with the Second Amendment, if you’re taking a severely strict interpretation of it.
So that’s my question: is it OK to have the Federal restrictions on what you can buy (e.g. requiring a permit!), and from disallowing Felons? I’m a gun owner myself, but if you go back to what I opened with: the discrepancy between “The state can’t then come through and require a permit to own a gun” and seemingly OK with some Federal oversight is a hangup for a lot of us. If a handful of laws are common sense (no felons), why can’t we enact other common sense laws?
Federal laws do not require a permit to buy.
The federal laws are that you answer the questions truthfully and pass the background check.
Permits come into play if you want to carry concealed, which is a different deal. That’s handled by the individual states.
Some states don’t care at all.
New York had a special permitting system where you had to demonstrate a valid reason for wanting to carry concealed, the Supreme Court struck that down. You can’t demand a special reason to exercise a Constitutional right.