A new bill heading to the Oregon State Legislature would require gun owners to place a trigger lock, like the one shown in this photo, on their guns at all times when not in use. STATE OF SAFETY ACTION
A bill that would tighten storage requirements for Oregon’s gun owners is headed to the Oregon State Legislature in 2019.
Titled the Cindy Yuille and Steve Forsyth Act, this bill would require gun owners[1] to safely store and lock a firearm when it is not in use, and when it is being transferred to another person; report a lost or stolen gun with 24 hours; supervise children under 18 at all times when they are handling firearms; and use locks and containers approved by the state attorney general. Failing to follow these rules would result in a fine.
The legislation, which is sponsored by State Representative Barbara Smith Warner and State Senator James Manning, would also impose a “strict liability” on gun owners who failed to follow these measures. That means that if someone failed to properly secure their gun, and that gun was then used by someone else to commit a crime, the gun owner could be held liable by the victims.
The bill is named for two victims in the
Clackamas Town Center shooting[2], which occurred exactly six years ago. Cindy Yuille’s daughter, Jenna Yuille, spoke at a press conference announcing the bill Tuesday morning at the Portland Association of Teachers office.“I wanted to make sure that [my mother’s] death wasn’t for nothing,” Yuille said. “This is the only true form of justice that I could find, which is working to make a difference in gun safety on
