The shooting at the Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore., that killed three children and a teacher on Thursday is likely to reignite debates about the effectiveness of gun laws meant to prevent deadly attacks.
Democrats control Oregon’s executive branch and both chambers of the Legislature, and the state in recent years has placed more restrictions on gun ownership. The gun safety advocacy organization Everytown ranks the state 12th out of 50 for the strength of its gun laws, though many of those laws are tied up in court.
Oregon lawmakers and voters have approved several of the major proposals Democrats have tried to pass in Congress after mass shootings in schools, houses of worship and other gathering places. Those laws include a ban on bump stocks and other weapon modifications aimed at increasing a gun’s rate of fire. The state also has a law cracking down on 3-D-printed ghost guns.
Its toughest restrictions — which voters narrowly approved in a ballot measure in 2022 — include a ban on high-capacity magazines and require stricter background checks and permitting. But legal challenges have slowed implementation of the measure, and lawmakers have voted to delay its effective date pending a ruling from the state’s Supreme Court.
Oregon still does not have some of the tightest restrictions favored by gun safety activists. It does not have, for example, a ban on certain kinds of assault or military-style firearms that can be found in California, New York and other states.
The post Oregon Has Approved Tight Gun Laws, but They Have Been Held Up in Courts appeared first on New York Times.
