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Oregon Governor Signs Background Check Bill

NWNews | By Chris Lehman,
Chris Lehman
Published May 11, 2015 at 5:05 PM MDT
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signs a bill to require criminal background checks on private gun sales.
Chris Lehman
/
Northwest News Network
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signs a bill to require criminal background checks on private gun sales.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a bill Monday that will require criminal background checks for anyone who buys a gun from a private party.

Background checks are already required for guns purchased through licensed dealers or at gun shows. Brown said the new law closes a loophole.

"We have an obligation to protect Oregonians from gun violence,” the governor said. “If we want to keep our kids, schools and communities safe, we must make it harder for dangerous people to get guns."

The measure passed with no Republican votes. Critics call the law intrusive and say it will do little to prevent determined criminals from getting their hands on weapons.

Opponents say they're planning a rally at the state capitol this month to publicly state that they won't follow the background check requirement when purchasing guns.

Copyright 2021 Northwest News Network. To see more, visit Northwest News Network.

Northwest News Network
Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.
See stories by Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.

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