Federal law establishes a baseline national standard regarding individuals’ eligibility to acquire and possess firearms. Under federal law, people are generally prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms if they have been convicted of a felony or some domestic violence misdemeanors, or if they are subject to certain court orders related to domestic violence or a serious mental condition. However, federal law merely provides a floor, and has notable gaps that allow individuals who have demonstrated significant risk factors for violence or self-harm to legally acquire and possess guns.

Oregon law generally prohibits possession of a firearm by any person who:

• Is under age 18;
• While a minor, was found to be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court for having committed an act which, if committed by an adult, would constitute a felony or a “misdemeanor involving violence” (including any assault in the fourth degree, strangulation, menacing, recklessly endangering another person, or intentionally subjecting another to offensive physical contact because of a perception of the other’s race, color, religion, national origin or sexual orientation), and was discharged from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court within the previous four years;
• Has been convicted of a felony;
• Was found “guilty, except for insanity” of a felony;
• Was committed to the Oregon Health Authority due to mental illness;
• Was found to be mentally ill and subject to an order that the person be prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm as a result of that mental illness;
• Is subject to a domestic violence protective order;
• Has been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor;¹;
• Has been convicted of a stalking misdemeanor (as of January 1, 2019);² or
• Is subject to an  Extreme Risk Protection Order.³

Other provisions in Oregon law prohibit the possession of a firearm by a person:

• Sentenced to probation during the term of probation;⁴ or

• Committed to a correctional institution while under the jurisdiction of the institution or while being conveyed to or from an institution.⁵

Another provision in Oregon law penalizes a person who “carries or bears” a firearm if the person has committed, with any type of firearm, murder in any degree or manslaughter, either voluntary or involuntary, or who in a careless or reckless manner killed or injured another with a firearm.⁶

Unusually, Oregon law also has separate restrictions that restrict a person from selling or transferring a firearm to individuals with certain criminal or other records without actually prohibiting those individuals from keeping or possessing firearms. More specifically, Oregon law prohibits any person from intentionally selling, delivering, or otherwise transferring a firearm when the transferor knows or reasonably should know that the recipient:

• Has been convicted of a felony or found “guilty except for insanity” of a felony;

• Has any outstanding felony warrants for arrest;

• Is free on any form of pretrial release for a felony;

• Was committed to the Oregon Health Authority;

• After January 1, 1990, was found to be mentally ill and subject to an order that the person be prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm as a result of that mental illness; or

• Has been convicted of a “misdemeanor involving violence” or found “guilty except for insanity” of a misdemeanor involving violence⁷ within the previous four years. A “misdemeanor involving violence” means assault in the fourth degree, strangulation, menacing, recklessly endangering another person, or intentionally subjecting another to offensive physical contact because of a perception of the other’s race, color, religion, national origin or sexual orientation.⁸

This provision does not apply if the recipient was granted relief from the disability under federal or state law or has had his or her record expunged.⁹

In Oregon, if a court finds that there is a reasonable likelihood that a mentally ill person would constitute a danger to himself or herself or others or to the community at large as a result of the person’s mental or psychological state, the court must order that the person be prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms.¹⁰

In 2022, Oregon voters also enacted a gun safety ballot initiative titled Measure 114 (“The Reduction of Gun Violence Act”) that, among other things, requires people to obtain a permit to be qualified to purchase or acquire firearms. Local law enforcement permitting agents must generally approve qualified and complete applications for a permit if the fingerprint background check determines that the applicant is not prohibited from purchasing or acquiring a firearm under state or federal law, unless the agency finds reasonable grounds to conclude that “the applicant has been or is reasonably likely to be a danger to self or others, or to the community at large, as a result of the applicant’s mental or psychological state or as demonstrated by the applicant’s past pattern of behavior involving unlawful violence or threats of unlawful violence.”¹¹

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1. Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 166.250(1)(c); 166.255(1). Individuals subject to domestic violence protective orders or convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors are also prohibited from possessing ammunition in addition to firearms.[↩]
2. Or. Rev. Stat. § 166.255(1)(c); Effective January 1, 2019.[↩]
3. Or. Rev. Stat. § 166.270.[↩]
4. Or. Rev. Stat. § 137.540(1)(l).[↩]
5. Or. Rev. Stat. § 166.275.[↩]
6. Or. Rev. Stat. § 166.300.[↩]
7. Or. Rev. Stat. § 166.470(1)(g).[↩]
8. Or. Rev. Stat. § 166.470(1).[↩]
9. Or. Rev. Stat. § 166.470(1).[↩]
10. Or. Rev. Stat. § 426.130(1)(b)(D).[↩]
11. See Measure 114, Section 4, subd. (1)(b), (e).[↩]