Oregon legislators to consider 3 new laws aimed at curbing gun deaths

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."House Bill 2005 would ban two types of ghost guns, 3-D printed firearms made of non-metal material and handgun kits that don’t meet the legal definition of a firearm and require minimal assembly. Neither type has a serial number and are therefore untraceable by law enforcement. The 3-D printed type pose a unique security concern because they are also undetectable by metal detectors and most X-Ray machines.

“They’re specifically designed ... to avoid all the measures that we have in Oregon to encourage responsible gun ownership,” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a press conference Tuesday. “So they appeal to people who can’t pass a background check, people who want to stockpile guns without the government knowing about it, and of course, to traffickers.”

Last May, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the number of privately made firearms the agency traced had increased by 1,000% between 2016 and 2021. Rosenblum said there isn’t good data on ghost guns in Oregon but noted that in California, an estimated 50% of shootings are done with untraceable firearms.

The Biden Administration has tried to use executive action to regulate privately made firearms but, without Congressional action, has been largely unsuccessful. Before the new rules took effect late last year, the kits shipped with everything needed to complete the firearm at home. Now, companies are simply selling the parts separately.

“Having unserialized firearms is just a dumb idea,” Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, said. “People are recognizing that prayers and thoughts are helpful, but clear action is necessary to try to limit what’s going on in our country and we can do it in a way that’s still respectful of individual liberty.”

Legislators are also considering bills that would allow cities and counties to prohibit firearms in government buildings and increase the minimum age to own a firearm to 21. People over 18 would still be able to buy certain kinds of rifles and shotguns commonly used for hunting. There is also an exception for military and law enforcement. Federal law bans the sale of handguns to people under 21.

House Bill 2007 builds on a law passed in 2021 allowing local school districts to ban firearms on campus. That law also banned firearms in the State Capitol and the Portland International Airport terminal. Currently, local governments are prohibited from limiting firearms in their buildings.

Rosenblum said about 32 school boards have banned firearms since the law took effect, encompassing approximately 200,000 students."...

Interesting way to conflate a few facts, a lot of half-truths, and a touch of nonsense to make a deliberately deceptive package.

So, now (at least in Oregon) the dreaded spooky "Ghost Guns" are both untraceable and undetectable.

It is true that guns made by machining a block of plastic or metal to create the frame or receiver don't have serial numbers and are "untraceable" -- so are most guns manufactured before 1968 as well as all guns that have ever been transferred in a private sale, or legally pawned, or legally traded to a gun shop, and, of course all guns that have been lost or stolen. Where do you suppose the overwhelming majority of "crime guns" come from?

While crimes on TV are magically solved by instantly "tracing" the serial number of a gun that the criminal conveniently abandons at the scene, that simply doesn't happen in the real world. Most guns recovered by police are only traced weeks or months after the fact. At best, a trace finds the first owner who bought the gun new from a licensed dealer. ALL used guns are untraceable!

As for the supposedly "undetectable" 3D printed guns, yes it is possible to 3D print a "gun" and it is even possible to 3D print a gun with no metal parts -- but no such gun has ever been able to fire more than one shot. And, to keep the "gun" undetectable also means not using metallic ammunition, so we are talking about a one-shot "gun" loaded with loose gun powder and a plastic "bullet" - overall such a gun is more dangerous to the shooter than to any intended victim. Real "3D printed" guns simply print the plastic parts but use a regular metal gun barrel, regular metal magazine, holding regular metal ammunition, as well as an assortment of other metal parts such as the springs and firing pin. Real 3D printed guns are easily detected by metal detectors and X-ray machines. Even the theoretical "all plastic" 3D printed gun is readily detected by the kind of X-ray and other scanners used for finding guns (such as those used at airports).