In recent years, Oregon has acted to strengthen its gun safety laws by enacting an extreme risk protection law, strengthening protections for victims of domestic violence, investing in community violence intervention programs, and requiring safe storage of firearms around children. In November 2022, Oregon voters also enacted a gun safety ballot initiative that strengthened background check and licensing processes, restricted large-capacity magazines, and promoted law enforcement efforts to investigate and recover firearms from people who become disqualified from owning them.

In 2023, Oregon had the twenty-fifth lowest gun death rate among the states. In an average year, 625 people die from gun violence in the state. That means someone dies from gun violence every 14 hours. Seventy-seven percent of those deaths are gun suicides, and 20% are gun homicides. In Oregon, the rate of gun deaths increased 22% from 2014 to 2023, compared to a 33% increase nationwide.