Convicted Felons Can Own A Firearm In Oregon

Mar 2011
38
0
Beaverton
166.270 - Possession of weapons by certain felons

(1) Any person who has been convicted of a felony under the law of this state or any other state, or who has been convicted of a felony under the laws of the Government of the United States, who owns or has in the person’s possession or under the person’s custody or control any firearm commits the crime of felon in possession of a firearm.

(2) Any person who has been convicted of a felony under the law of this state or any other state, or who has been convicted of a felony under the laws of the Government of the United States, who owns or has in the person’s possession or under the person’s custody or control any instrument or weapon having a blade that projects or swings into position by force of a spring or by centrifugal force or any blackjack, slungshot, sandclub, sandbag, sap glove, metal knuckles or an Electro-Muscular Disruption Technology device as defined in ORS 165.540 (Obtaining contents of communications), or who carries a dirk, dagger or stiletto, commits the crime of felon in possession of a restricted weapon.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a person "has been convicted of a felony" if, at the time of conviction for an offense, that offense was a felony under the law of the jurisdiction in which it was committed. Such conviction shall not be deemed a conviction of a felony if:

(a) The court declared the conviction to be a misdemeanor at the time of judgment; or

(b) The offense was possession of marijuana and the conviction was prior to January 1, 1972.

(4) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to any person who has been:

(a) Convicted of only one felony under the law of this state or any other state, or who has been convicted of only one felony under the laws of the United States, which felony did not involve criminal homicide, as defined in ORS 163.005 (Criminal homicide), or the possession or use of a firearm or a weapon having a blade that projects or swings into position by force of a spring or by centrifugal force, and who has been discharged from imprisonment, parole or probation for said offense for a period of 15 years prior to the date of alleged violation of subsection (1) of this section; or

(b) Granted relief from the disability under 18 U.S.C. 925(c) or ORS 166.274 (Relief from prohibition against possessing or purchasing firearm) or has had the person’s record expunged under the laws of this state or equivalent laws of another jurisdiction.

(5) Felon in possession of a firearm is a Class C felony. Felon in possession of a restricted weapon is a Class A misdemeanor. [Amended by 1975 c.702 §1; 1985 c.543 §4; 1985 c.709 §2; 1987 c.853 §1; 1989 c.839 §4; 1993 c.735 §2; 1995 c.518 §1; 1999 c.1040 §16; 2003 c.14 §64; 2009 c.189 §1; 2009 c.499 §3]

Now of course the issue with all of this is that although Oregon says a convicted felon can own a firearm under certain conditions the US government says a convicted felon can never own a firearm, ever. Very confusing.
 
Last edited:
Jan 2009
845
0
Renton, WA
So the short version is you can own a firearm if you only have one felony conviction, and that felony was not homicide nor did the felon use a firearm or edged weapon in the commission of said felony?

Like say someone was doing something totally harmless like making wheelies, got chased by the cops, tried to run but got caught and convicted of felony eluding. That guy can still own a gun?
 
Mar 2011
38
0
Beaverton
So the short version is you can own a firearm if you only have one felony conviction, and that felony was not homicide nor did the felon use a firearm or edged weapon in the commission of said felony?

Like say someone was doing something totally harmless like making wheelies, got chased by the cops, tried to run but got caught and convicted of felony eluding. That guy can still own a gun?

Yes. Oregon says you can own a firearm but the feds say you cannot. It begs the question as to why Oregon would include in a statute the legal right to break a federal law. I've asked several attorney friends about this and have gotten several different answers. The statute is clear in its language and that clarity indicates some convicted felons may indeed own a gun. As I said, this is very confusing.
 
Mar 2011
38
0
Beaverton
One could almost make the conclusion the the State of Oregon will not prosecute a convicted felon who meets this criteria. I can't say that this is true but the wording in the statute is clear and would certainly indicate this. So if you are a convicted felon and meet this criteria, don't conceal a weapon at any time and don't get caught by a federal agent with a weapon either. This seems easy enough as I don't know of any federal agency on active patrol in Oregon.
 
Aug 2009
120
0
WA
someone go commit a felony and then test the law for us. :headscratch::grin:

Felonies today ain't what they used to be.

These days you can get put on a sex offender registry for having to make an emergency restroom stop on the side of the road if someone complains.
 
Mar 2011
20
0
Marysville, WA
Oh man where do I start?
The whole thing about "prior" convictions is a relative new thing. We all know that back in the good old days, you could not have your gun in jail, however when you got out, you got it back. (unless of course you were let out of jail only to be hung) The suspension of your constitutional rights were only while you were incarcerated. The first 10 amendments or the "bill of rights" was not given to you by the government, hence the government could not take them away, only suspend them. This all started with the Wilson administration when the mob in Chicago and else where ( was just getting started) The government needed a way to track ex-cons and deny them certain things to make it easier to put them back in the pokey. It was a game. And tracking and the keeping of criminal records was born. Before that there was no such thing.
It should be that for what ever reason you go to jail, when you got out, the slate was wiped clean, you paid your debt, then it was over. The government, who did not give you your rights, could not take them away, now they can. And the government continues to ad reasons to be arrested only so they can deny "guns" ( notice how the left wants even the people in jail to vote? --Way to go Hillary) It was always about guns.
So I bet you wonder where your freedoms went when there are over 300,000 laws and regulations on the books that you can be arrested for. Then forever tracked and denied jobs, constitutional rights, and home ownership, and even to rent an apartment.
It all goes back to the 1920's and guns. And socialist.
 
Feb 2011
17
0
spokane
UM what? Hang em it will teach em a lessen. Question: when a government does not want it's citisens to be armed what, is the government going to do that it's citisens won't like?
 
Jan 2009
845
0
Renton, WA
Oh man where do I start?
The whole thing about "prior" convictions is a relative new thing. We all know that back in the good old days, you could not have your gun in jail, however when you got out, you got it back. (unless of course you were let out of jail only to be hung) The suspension of your constitutional rights were only while you were incarcerated. The first 10 amendments or the "bill of rights" was not given to you by the government, hence the government could not take them away, only suspend them. This all started with the Wilson administration when the mob in Chicago and else where ( was just getting started) The government needed a way to track ex-cons and deny them certain things to make it easier to put them back in the pokey. It was a game. And tracking and the keeping of criminal records was born. Before that there was no such thing.
It should be that for what ever reason you go to jail, when you got out, the slate was wiped clean, you paid your debt, then it was over. The government, who did not give you your rights, could not take them away, now they can. And the government continues to ad reasons to be arrested only so they can deny "guns" ( notice how the left wants even the people in jail to vote? --Way to go Hillary) It was always about guns.
So I bet you wonder where your freedoms went when there are over 300,000 laws and regulations on the books that you can be arrested for. Then forever tracked and denied jobs, constitutional rights, and home ownership, and even to rent an apartment.
It all goes back to the 1920's and guns. And socialist.

So you're saying that by extension, the miserable failure known as Prohibition, which was single-handedly responsible for the birth of organized crime as we know it, was also responsible for even more erosion of our rights & freedoms?
 
Jan 2009
1,684
0
s. greenlake *****
yes I think thats what he's saying..

I agree.. it's all a giant pile of bulllshit designed to make some people rich.
 
Jul 2011
2
0
Vancouver, Wa
Ok, my question is as follows: I am 23 moving from Washington to Oregon, when I was 15 I was convicted or a class c felony, It is my only felony conviction, I have not gotten in any trouble since. I have also had my record sealed in Washington. Going off of the information I have provided, I am eligible to own a firearm in Oregon state?
 
May 2011
255
0
Woodinville WA
Ok, my question is as follows: I am 23 moving from Washington to Oregon, when I was 15 I was convicted or a class c felony, It is my only felony conviction, I have not gotten in any trouble since. I have also had my record sealed in Washington. Going off of the information I have provided, I am eligible to own a firearm in Oregon state?

Having a record sealed and expunged are too different things. there are still some pesky questions on the NICS forms. So a person can't buy a new weapon from an FFL. Then they buy from a gun show. And if they F-up that'll be one more nail in the gun show show coffin. The lead on the news will be "Tragically a convicted felon got hold of a gun using the "gun show loophole"."

Notice I didn't say "You" in my reply.
 
Jul 2011
2
0
Vancouver, Wa
Although I understand what you are saying, My question was given the information given in this forum topic, and the information I provided am I eligible to posses a firearm In Oregon state? Thank you
 
May 2011
255
0
Woodinville WA
Although I understand what you are saying, My question was given the information given in this forum topic, and the information I provided am I eligible to posses a firearm In Oregon state? Thank you

Seems like you can posses as many as you could get your hands on. Just don't try to buy one over the counter. Also seems like IF you got into trouble, or heck, even had a righteous shoot of a home-invader, there is a very good possibility that the Oregon law would not protect you if the Feds wanted to come after you.

But unless it was something spectacular that captured the media's attention, the odds of the feds wasting their time would be pretty low.

15 years old... I know it's only 8 years ago, but having been a fifteen year old, I know that there's a lot more that separates a 15 year old from a level headed 23 year old than 8 years. I did plenty at that age that could have gotten me in trouble or killed with slightly different luck than I had. Good luck.
 
Jan 2009
745
0
Dri-Shities
Although I understand what you are saying, My question was given the information given in this forum topic, and the information I provided am I eligible to posses a firearm In Oregon state? Thank you

Why don't you contact the police in the city or county where you will be residing? They should be the ones that have the correct answer. Or contact the ATF, they should be able to tell you the Federal standpoint on the issue.

I'm just suggesting this as we are all just trying to interpret what we have read, same as you!
 
May 2011
255
0
Woodinville WA
Why don't you contact the police in the city or county where you will be residing? They should be the ones that have the correct answer. Or contact the ATF, they should be able to tell you the Federal standpoint on the issue.

I'm just suggesting this as we are all just trying to interpret what we have read, same as you!

Lawyers have an old saying. Never ask a question you don't know the answer to. You may not get the answer you want.
 
Jan 2009
745
0
Dri-Shities
Lawyers have an old saying. Never ask a question you don't know the answer to. You may not get the answer you want.

Ya, but I'm not going to chime in on this & give him the answer he wants & have it be wrong!
 
May 2011
288
0
NW Quadrant WA State
It's not a matter of "a" or "b" in the subsection you highlighted. "b" states that the felon has to be "Granted relief from the disability under 18 U.S.C. 925(c) or ORS 166.274 (Relief from prohibition against possessing or purchasing firearm) or has had the person’s record expunged under the laws of this state or equivalent laws of another jurisdiction."

In short it means they have to have their rights restored per Fed Law or that paragraph you referred to doesn't matter.
 
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