Oregon Statutes 166.395 – Securing firearms; penalties; civil liability
(1)(a) An owner or possessor of a firearm shall, at all times that the firearm is not carried by or under the control of the owner, possessor or authorized person, secure the firearm:
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 166.395
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
(A) With an engaged trigger or cable lock;
(B) In a locked container; or
(C) In a gun room.
(b) For purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection, a firearm is not secured if:
(A) A key or combination to the trigger or cable lock or the container is readily available to a person the owner or possessor has not authorized to carry or control the firearm.
(B) The firearm is a handgun, is left unattended in a vehicle and is within view of persons outside the vehicle.
(2)(a) A violation of subsection (1) of this section is a Class C violation.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, a violation of subsection (1) of this section is a Class A violation if a minor obtains an unsecured firearm as a result of the violation and the owner or possessor of the firearm knew or should have known that a minor could gain unauthorized access to the unsecured firearm.
(c) Each firearm owned or possessed in violation of subsection (1) of this section constitutes a separate violation.
(3) If a firearm obtained as a result of an owner or possessor of a firearm violating subsection (1) of this section is used to injure a person or property within two years of the violation, in an action against the owner or possessor to recover damages for the injury, the violation constitutes per se negligence, and the presumption of negligence may not be overcome by a showing that the owner or possessor acted reasonably.
(4) Subsection (3) of this section does not apply if:
(a) The injury results from a lawful act of self-defense or defense of another person; or
(b) The unsecured firearm was obtained by a person as a result of the person entering or remaining unlawfully in a dwelling, as those terms are defined in ORS § 164.205.
(5) This section does not apply to a police officer as defined in ORS § 181A.355, with respect to a particular firearm, if storage of the firearm is covered by a policy of the law enforcement agency employing the police officer and the firearm is stored in compliance with the policy. [2021 c.146 § 3]