Recent Changes To Oregon’s Firearm Purchasing Policies

We have word from Oregon State Police that the agency is in the process of changing its policy back to normal after a series of trial court wins for firearm owners. The firearms unit will no longer be accessing expungement information in making firearm purchase decisions.

We do not have anything in writing yet, but this information has been relayed to our group of interested firearm attorneys, and we have been seeing some transactions approved that were previously denied.

On the other hand, I have still seen a recent denial that should not have happened, but it was based on a firearm rights restoration and not an expungement. We will be watching closely as this develops. 

It is important to note that the expungements must have been done correctly, with a final follow-up fingerprint-based background check to ensure the Computerized Criminal History (CCH) is correct. If the CCH is incorrect and still shows the expunged cases or leaves questions about dispositions, it will likely still lead to a delay or denial.

What This Means To You: 

If you are on delay for a purchase, we hope to see those delays start turning into approvals.

If you were denied illegally based on expunged cases, you should be approved now.

Should You Attempt to Purchase Now

I am providing this information now because this topic is of exceptional interest to so many people on this list. However, as stated above, we don’t have this policy change in writing yet. I would prefer to wait for this word in writing, but we have enough assurance of the change that I am sending this initial information out. Whether you attempt a purchase now is up to you.

Can We Sue for All of the Delay and Denial? 

Probably not. Standby for More Information:

We wanted to get you this information as soon as possible. But we are looking forward to getting something in writing to share with you soon.