Oregon citizens officially lost some of their gun rights when Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 941 on May 10th, 2015. SB 941 requires background checks for most gun transactions involving private parties. Anti-gun rights groups praised the passage of the bill.
"We have an obligation to protect Oregonians from gun violence," Brown said before signing Senate Bill 941. "If we want to keep our kids, schools and communities safe, we must make it harder for dangerous people to get guns."
The last major tightening of Oregon’s gun laws came in 2000 when voters approved an initiative requiring background checks for all firearms sales at gun shows.
Since then, the National Rifle Association and other gun activists had successfully blocked attempts to tighten gun laws, including after the mass shootings in 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut, and Clackamas Town Center in the Portland area.
The tide turned last year when Everytown for Gun Safety, a group financially backed by New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg, helped elect two more Democrats in the state Senate and turned the political tide in the Oregon Legislature.
Former Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Kelly supported the measure.
Former Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Kelly, who formed Americans for Responsible Solutions after she was shot and seriously injured in 2011, said they hoped passage of the bill would send a message to Congress.
"Today, Oregon became a safer place to live and joined a growing list of states that have had what Congress has not: the courage to stand up to the gun lobby," they said in a statement.
Jared Loughner, the man who shot Gabrielle Giffords on January 8th, 2011, passed a background check in 2010.
Aurora, CO shooter James Holmes passed a background check.
Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho passed a background check.
Las Vegas shooters Jared and Amanda Miller passed background checks.
Navy Shipyard shooter Aaron Alexis passed a background check.
Seattle Jewish Center shooter Naveed Haq passed a background check.
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We don’t need more laws curbing our rights.
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