Oregon official makes the case for ghost gun ban effective Sunday

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Ghost guns will be made illegal in Oregon on Sunday thanks to a new law. Now the Oregon Attorney General's Office is breaking down the rules and making the argument for why it's needed.

House Bill 2005 was actually passed in the summer of last year so there's already been a grace period for gun owners to get a serial number. Now there will be consequences if they don't.

If you have a gun that you made at home and never got it serialized then law enforcement across Oregon will be able to give you a Class B violation. If you get caught again, it's a misdemeanor. And a third offense will get you a felony.

"If you own a ghost gun as of September 1st, it's required to have a serial number on it," said Michael Kron, the special counsel for Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum's office."

It's been a federal law to get a serial number for a firearm for decades. But now it's state-specific.

So what's the issue with a firearm without the right identification? Kron said that nationwide, there's been an explosion of unserialized guns found at crime scenes in recent years.

"Essentially, the problem with these firearms is they're easily used by criminals to evade firearm tracing and criminal investigations," he said.

According to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, "From 2016 through 2021, there were approximately 45,240 suspected privately made firearms reported to ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement from potential crime scenes, including 692 homicides or attempted homicides. These issues have led to some states passing additional laws related to PMFs."

Kron said the Oregon ghost gun law does not actually ban people from assembling their own guns at home. They just need to be officially serialized after they're made.

"Our expectation is that most people who own ghost guns or most people who are aficionados that like to put together their own firearms will comply with the law and get their firearms serialized," Kron said.

If you count yourself in the gun aficionado camp, own a self-assembled gun and wish to comply with the law, it's a good reminder to get a serial number on it if you haven't already. But just how do you go about that?

"This can be done by taking your firearm or a major component of the firearm to the federally licensed firearm dealer and asking them to affix a serial number," Kron said.

KOIN 6 News asked Kron about the opinion filed by an Oregon federal judge who wanted a temporary restraining order challenging the ghost gun ban. Kron said having a serial number on your gun in no way diminishes people's Second Amendment rights.