Starting September 1, Oregon will enforce a controversial new ban on “ghost guns”. While gun owners and gun rights advocates all see this for what it is, a law that makes people with no intent to commit crimes, by legal definition, criminals simply for owning something that has always been legal, supporters argue that this ban, enacted as part of House Bill 2005, will make communities safer.
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who has been a vocal proponent of the ban, claims that “responsible gun ownership means respecting the gun laws of our state, and that now includes a ban on unserialized and undetectable ‘ghost guns.’” Never mind if they change those laws simply to criminals legal gun owners. The law is simply another step in the erosion of Oregon residents’ Second Amendment rights. The new law basically states that after September 1, any firearm bought after October 22, 1968, along with unfinished frames or receivers, must have a serial number.
The penalties for noncompliance are steep, with fines up to $1,000 for a first offense, and the threat of higher fines or even jail time for repeat offenders. To avoid these penalties, gun owners are being forced to take their firearms to federally licensed dealers to have them serialized, an added burden that many see as unnecessary government overreach, especially on some firearms older than 50 years and that have been owned by the same person all that time.
The law has not gone unchallenged. The Oregon Firearms Federation Inc. and Firearms Policy Coalition Inc. recently filed a motion to block the ban, arguing that it violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Oregonians. However, in a decision that has sparked outrage among gun rights supporters, United States District Judge Adrienne Nelson denied the motion. Judge Nelson argued that the Second Amendment right “is not unequivocal” and claimed, without substantial evidence, that unserialized or undetectable firearms are primarily used for illegal purposes, rather than for lawful self-defense, collectible or other legitimate uses.
As the September 1 deadline approaches, many gun owners feel under siege, facing what they see as yet another attempt by the state to criminalize their rights. The Oregon Department of Justice may urge compliance for the “safety of your families and communities,” but we see it for what it really is, another law that will only hamper and criminalize the otherwise law abiding. It won’t stop the criminals at all.
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