All2kool

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.

James

Federal Law supersedes state law.

GixxerPete

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?

All2kool

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.

All2kool

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.

Teacher Todd

someone go commit a felony and then test the law for us.

All2kool

And get back to us after 15 years of post-supervision.

Booga

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.

sixgun

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.

hot round

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?

GixxerPete

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?

sunofnun

yes I think thats what he's saying..

I agree.. it's all a giant pile of bulllshit designed to make some people rich.

MikeSwag

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?

philster

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.

MikeSwag

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

philster

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.

FatFugg

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!

philster

Lawyers have an old saying. Never ask a question you don't know the answer to. You may not get the answer you want.

FatFugg

Ya, but I'm not going to chime in on this & give him the answer he wants & have it be wrong!

deadshot2

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.

Monster4570

It was not supposed to be that way.

deadshot2

Not exactly correct. The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land. Only those powers not designated to the Federal Government remain with the State.

There's the rub. Where does the Constitution assume power over firearms for the Federal Government. Using the Commerce Clause is a poor excuse.

migxdm

my buddy has a felony, from a fight in highschool.. i think they made an example out of him. anyways he cant own a gun... supposedly he can go to court and get his rights back for a fee

thuegli

I'm resurrecting this old thread but there is an answer to this question. In Oregon, you can restore your right to possess and own a firearm, even if you have a recent conviction. You still may be technically in violation of federal law but the US Attorney in Oregon has stated they will not prosecute someone for being a felon in possession if their rights have been restored at the state level, unless the person is committing another crime at the same time such as weapons trafficking or drug running.

If you are interested in knowing more about this process, send me a PM!

Todd

BigStick

My advice would be to get a lawyer and pay them to figure it out for you. You don't have the right contacts or context to get down to a real answer, and anything we say on here is just some guy on the internet's opinion.

Trick

Don't go ruining a perfectly good thread full of opinions with sound advice.

Low Trq

If you can't be trusted with a gun why would you be trusted with a knife, car, lighter, hammer, sword, boot...

A gun is simply a tool, nothing more.

richardlpalmer

The felony rule hasn't ever made complete sense to me. If the person has "paid their debt" or "been rehabilitated" (or whatever term they want to use), why then doesn't he/she have their rights back?

thejrod

Agree that this is the way it should be, but then again, I'm conflicted on the subject. Take sex offenders for example. Technically they paid their debt once they're released, but they sure do have to jump through a lot of hoops. But I'm ok with that. If someone commits a felony with a firearm, maybe I'm ok with them not being able to own firearms again. Maybe I'm not ok with it... it does go directly against the Constitution, which I tend to support verbatim.

richardlpalmer

Yeah, I hear you -- that probably describes my position the best as well.

I also know there are people with felonies on their record that are silly or just plain don't qualify in a rational person's mind as being something that should carry that sort of weight.

I remember reading a story about a guy in the Baja prison who'd committed murder. He truly rehabilitated (off drugs, self-improvement, etc.) as part of that got permission to talk with the family of the person he murdered. He ended up making amends to the family directly for quite a long time. He was basically an indentured servant for them (his choice, worked out with the prison). He earned the money that their son would have earned, payed for things to the widow/children, did the physical labor that would have been done, ensured the children had education, etc. When all was said and done the family themselves requested that he be released from prison as a completely rehabilitated person and contributing member of society.

When I read that I got a completely different idea of what "rehabilitated" meant. He didn't just sit in a prison for a number of years and then get released, having served his time. He made up the damage so thoroughly & completely that he was no longer the same man. It gives one to wonder if that type of standard was expected in our prison system, if we'd see different results -- negating the need for so many of these types of rules...

thuegli

This is great advice. I am a lawyer that specializes in restoring gun rights for people in Oregon. I also offer plenty of free advice and tips. I encourage any with questions to shoot me a PM.

Trav86

Ok. I have a question here. I am 27 years old. In 2011 I was convicted of Felony Assault III and spent 45 days in jail, and got sentenced to 3 years probation. The assault stemmed from a fight that I got into with a friend of mine and his brother in law. My friend and his brother in law were fighting, I jumped into it being the drunk idiot I was at the time and got what I deserved from the law. I had only a few misdemenor charges from my youth/young adult life so this was my first feloy ever. it is an Assault III Class C felony. When I was sentenced my lawyer told me I could get it exponged *sp* when I completed probation. Well, I get off probation in June of this year, and have recently been curious as to where I stand in the law as far as possessing a handgun/rifle and if my right to bear arms has been taken away forever over a stupid drunk fight? I was just doing some google searching and found this forum. I'm bringing the thread back in hopes of some help. If you can help with some info thanks in advance, and I look forward to browsing the forums and learning some new things. Thanks Guys and Gals.

RK600

According to the law, it's a 15 year wait from the date of the offense....

OR, you need to go to court and get your record expunged or get a judge to sign off on it. Probably time to talk to a lawyer if you don't want to wait 15 years. There is a guy right above you that says he can help....you should take him up on that.

Trav86

YEAH i JUST MESSAGED HIM LAST NIGHT, so even though I didn't commit a murder just because I got probation I have to wait for 15 years?!?!?1

RK600

You need to ask a lawyer. Since the Feds say you can't ever own one but Oregon says you can, you need to tread very carefully here. I'm not a lawyer, I'll just tell you what the law says.

If you were convicted of a felony, then the quoted laws at the beginning of this thread affect you.

lifehackrr

Hot Round, I was reading this and saw your remark and I want to tell you to so VERY VERY CLEARLY piss off, get rid of your guns and hang yourself. I have a felony for simply walking away from a crazy EX, period. the police decided that I was at fault for trying to escape a psychotic woman and shot me 7 times then ruined my chances of having a decent life. simply put, not every person with the label "felon" deserves it or is responsible for something bad. Research it and you will find thousands of cases where people we found to be INNOCENT years after there incarceration. YEARS IN PRISON FOR NOTHING and if we followed your advice that would what... make you a murder then you personally would be a felon under mans laws and GODs so I ask you RE-THINK the BS you have swallowed from our government, and please please please DO NOT reproduce, we have enough retards to deal with without your offspring.

devanjones

0-60mph in one post.

Scvette

Rule number 1, do not drink and join forums. Way to reply to a post from 2 yrs ago.

Dragon Rider

Scvette

I just noticed that was my 1st post in this forum also,been lurking since May though,and I'm not drinking either.