Oregon Gun Show Law Gets Mixed Reviews for 2001

In its first year, Oregon’s referendum-passed gun control law, Measure 5, has cut down on the number of dealers at gun shows and, supporters say, saved lives by keeping guns out of the hands of felons, according to The Portland Oregonian.

The new law, the Gun Violence Prevention Act, closed the so-called gun show loophole by requiring private collectors to run a criminal background check on their customers.

Previously, only federally licensed firearms dealers—people who made their living selling guns—were required to run the checks.

Now private collectors at any venue where more than 25 guns are for sale are required to pay $9 for a telephone background check with the state police. The law won passage vote in November 2000.

In 2001, many formerly exempt private collectors, who once flocked to Oregon’s 160 gun shows, stayed away or sold items other than guns. The state’s largest show operator saw a dramatic decrease in the number of private dealers.

“I’ve dropped from 1,400 tables to 1,000,” said Ken Glass, owner of Rose City Gun Collectors, who held shows on seven weekends in 2001 at the Portland Expo Center, drawing 7,000 to 10,000 people each weekend.

Opponents of gun control say Measure 5 resulted in only a tiny increase in criminal background checks, while driving away legitimate gun enthusiasts.

According to the Oregon State Police, 549 private sellers at gun shows requested checks of their customers through November—less than 5% of the 9,390 background checks requested at gun shows in the state and less than half of 1% of the 121,737 gun deals statewide.

Regardless, John Hellen of Oregon Gun Owners, a gun rights group, said the number of checks for private sales at gun shows is so low, “it illustrates that the problem was not even close to the size sponsors claimed it was,” he said.