Is House Bill 2543 a blessing in disguise?

[91A PE]

Just wondering if House Bill 2543 is a possible blessing in disguise. Looks like the existing version of ORS 166.412 will permit the firearms transfer if the state does not return a report "before the close of the gun dealer's next business day following the request by the gun dealer for a criminal history record check".

(Are there actually any gun dealers that will transfer on the third day if the BGC does not come back?)

The current three-day transfer provision is a "remedy at law" that appears bar a writ of mandamus to compel the state to complete the BGC after an unreasonable delay.

By eliminating the three-day transfer provision, House Bill 2543 appears to eliminate the only remedy at law, opening the door for relatively easy to prove mandamus claims.

Both Oregon and Federal mandamus grant the prevailing party attorney fees. A lot of favorable case law in this area. FBI and ICE lost lots of mandamus cases in Oregon for unreasonable delays on clearing BGCs in immigration cases.

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[arakboss]

Can you provide an example of before and after cases that would demonstrate why you think HB2543 would be a blessing in disguise?

 

[91A PE]

I searched for mandamus cases related to ORS 166.412 and didn't find any lawsuits to compel completion of a check after an unreasonable delay. Without doing the legislative research, I suspect that the current three-day sales provision at ORS 166.412(3)(c) is actually careful legislative draftsmanship to create a remedy at law to avoid mandamus lawsuits and to make the transfer prohibition "narrowly tailored" for constitutional purposes. Government organizations have terrible institutional memory. It's entirely possible that HB 2543 is an example of eager beavers overreaching, creating unintended consequences.

Put differently, I wouldn't file a mandamus case for a client under ORS 166.412 as currently codified, but I would under the changes proposed by HB 2543. Under the current law, after Day 2, the problem isn't the State Police, the problem is the gun dealer not executing the transfer under (3)(c) because of confused or risk-adverse in-store policy.

Are there gun dealers in Oregon who will make the transfer on the third day after no response from the State Police?