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This is the way to fit back. Measure 114 in Oregon passed by voters with a slim margin. It is unconstitutional and will be turned over in court. One gun store is taking a stand, and hopefully others in the state will follow. Hats off to J&B Firearm Sales. Due to the state background check system being flooded and (purposely?) backlogged, they're basically bypassing it (has been plagued with long delays for awhile and it's worse now) and raising a big middle finger to the state.
Addressed to all of our customers, Oregon gun owners, our fellow Oregon FFLs, and to firearms enthusiasts everywhere:
By now you are most likely aware that at 12am on Dec 8th the Oregon State Police will be requiring permits for firearms purchasing due to Measure 114. There have been numerous questions surrounding what will happen next. As of now on the FICS website there are currently ~ 4,100 purchasers in the CHL queue, and ~19,200 in the normal queue. Additionally we have over 50 clients who have been in a Delayed background check status indefinitely, 5 of which are still from 2020.
With queue numbers rapidly increasing daily as more and more Oregonians attempt to acquire firearms before their rights are restricted for the foreseeable future, by Dec 7th at 11:59pm we estimate that upwards of 30,000+ purchasers will be stuck in limbo with no way to take possession of their purchases.
This has created a situation where both businesses and customers are stuck in a no-win scenario. What happens to the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in tied up purchases across the state? Will customers have their hard earned money tied up in pending sales indefinitely until a permitting system is in place? Will dealers have to refund significant earnings on inventory they can no longer sell and face even further financial issues than this bill will already cause? Many hold out hope for injunctions, lawsuits, stays, etc. Well hope is not a plan. Forced into a corner with an uncertain future we are enacting a nuclear option:
Effective immediately we will be releasing all firearms with pending background checks under the 3 day rule listed in [18 U.S.C. 922(t); 27 CFR 478.102(a)(2)].
This means that if 3 full business days have elapsed since we submitted your background check you are good to come in and pick up your firearm. Please note that it must be 3 full business days - this means if you submitted a check on Monday that went into the queue, after Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday have elapsed you may pick up your firearm on Friday.
Given that Dec 8th falls on a Thursday that means the last day we can submit your background check and still guarantee delivery by end of day on Dec 7th would be Thursday Dec 1st.
For those not in the queue and in a Delayed status please note NICS checks are only valid for 30 days, which means you will need to come into the shop for us to fill out a new 4473 to get you back into the queue.
We will of course work through our backlog of pending background checks to call and notify all of our customers as quickly as we can, but in the meantime please spread the word as much as possible on any platform you have access to.
We also invite and encourage all other Oregon FFLs to join us in adopting this policy. If this State wants to take us down we believe we should go out with a bang, not a whimper. After years of indefinite delays, cancellations, and now this assault on our rights & livelihoods it is time to stand together and tell the State and the FICS Unit enough is enough.
Faithfully and sincerely,
- J&B Firearm Sales Inc.
If I understand this correctly, the shop is merely taking advantage of the law's blackletter provision against unreasonable check delays -- a provision that has been the right of gun shops under such laws (like NICS) for decades, but which dealers have almost universally been "afraid" to exercise for fear of lawfare retribution. So compared to other US dealers, these people are showing more courage, but for absolute values of courage it should be embarrassing for the gun community to brag about.