Oregon Selling gun (legally) that was gifted

[SPSharpshooter]

Can you sell a gun that was gifted to you (legally under ORS). Does the state track prior owners? I don't know who owned the gun before it was gifted to me and if it was done through an FFL. Just don't wanna run into any hang ups when I sell and go through FFL with buyer. Thanks

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[The Heretic]

I don't know if Oregon gov tracks such things or not. I think probably not.

If the gun was transferred to the person who gave you the gift, before August 2015, then plausibly the previous owner could have acquired the firearm without it being in Oregon's records and transferred to someone else before August 2105.

If the person who gifted the firearm to you is a close family relative (parent/grandparent, in-law, aunt/uncle, sibling, your child or niece/nephew, first cousin, domestic partner), then they did not need to have it transferred to you via an FFL with a BGC.

As for you selling it, if the sale is not to a close family member, then you need to do the transfer thru an FFL. You won't get into any trouble if you follow the law when you sell it. The only person that could get into trouble would be previous owners of the firearm.

 

[Martini_Up]

Wait! We have gun registration??

 

[P7M13]

If you don't know who owned the gun when it was "gifted", then how was said gun gifted?

 

[The Heretic]

Wait! We have gun registration??

Yes, in OR & WA, de-facto registration

 

[solv3nt]

Wait! We have gun registration??

No, but do you trust that the State Police isn't keeping a log of all of the transferred guns?

 

[SPSharpshooter]

Heretic -thanks for the answer. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. Should be good to go then.

Registration- But really it would have so many holes and missing parts with out of state transfers etc.

 

[The Heretic]

Registration- But really it would have so many holes and missing parts with out of state transfers etc.

Yes, which is why anti-gun people are pushing for universal BGCs. Lacking that, they are pushing for every state to have their own BGC laws. Eventually they get most of gun owners on a list of some sort. Registration serves no real purpose when it comes to crime and violence as criminals don't obey those laws, registration only serves the purpose of eventual confiscation.

 

[Dozer99]

Just a note of advice: Don't "sell" your guns!

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Can you sell a gun that was gifted to you (legally under ORS). Does the state track prior owners? I don't know who owned the gun before it was gifted to me and if it was done through an FFL. Just don't wanna run into any hang ups when I sell and go through FFL with buyer. Thanks

If you own it legally, and it is not on anyone's books as being yours I would hang onto it forever. If they don't officially know you have it they can't come and try to take it.

 

[gmerkt]

This question has come up before. What the state doesn't know about, they cannot track. In Oregon or any other state. Guns that are off the books or that are on the books but changed hands without paperwork are off the radar for you. They may very well be still on the books for some previous owner but they are not connectible to the current owner.

In Wash. there is a requirement for legatees to declare retention of inherited handguns. I have no idea how often this is done but I suspect compliance is oft ignored. This kind of self-reporting is the only way a government would know about inherited firearms. RCW 9.4.113(4)(h):

"... acquired a pistol by operation of law upon the death of the former owner of the pistol within the preceding sixty days. At the end of the sixty-day period, the person must either have lawfully transferred the pistol or must have contacted the department of licensing to notify the department that he or she has possession of the pistol and intends to retain possession of the pistol, in compliance with all federal and state laws..."

Until such time as we have universal firearm registration, this gradual approach is the only way states will get these sub rosa handguns on the books.

My reading of this suggests to me that if you give a gun away to a family member before you become "late," compliance with RCW 9.4.113(4)(h) isn't required.

But for the OP, this is all example, because I don't know the subject for Oregon.

 

[Mark W.]

As to OSP having records of firearms transactions my recent experience with 62 day delay buying a rifle when the state police couldn't find a record of a pistol I had bought 2.5 years earlier tells me they haven't got a clue.

 

[SPSharpshooter]

Appreciate the responses guys/gals

 

[The Heretic]

If you own it legally, and it is not on anyone's books as being yours I would hang onto it forever. If they don't officially know you have it they can't come and try to take it.

I mostly agree.

However, if you have any other guns "on the books", then when they come for those guns, they are probably not going to stop with just those guns - they will likely search for all others.

Now if the confiscation/ban process involves turning in firearms or a "buy back", then it turning in only those guns "on the books" is something to consider. Given the number of guns in the USA, this is the most likely scenario. Some people might experience visitations by LEOs, but probably not all, and surely not all owners at once. Most likely any visitations will be gradual over time, in part to set an example and encourage remaining owners to comply. Also, LE/gov will pickup owners of banned firearms when owners transport them or LE/goov otherwise encounters the owners with the guns.

 

[The Heretic]

As to OSP having records of firearms transactions my recent experience with 62 day delay buying a rifle when the state police couldn't find a record of a pistol I had bought 2.5 years earlier tells me they haven't got a clue.

Doesn't mean the data isn't there somewhere. Just means the low level OSP can't access it. Should the gov decide they want to confiscate, I am sure they would find a way to gather the data they need without asking us for it.

 

[jbett98]

Coming up stolen when OSP runs the BGC while selling it would be my only concern.

 

[Member 34319]

Wait! We have gun registration??

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/4473-part-1-firearms-transaction-record-over-counter-atf-form-53009/download

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I mostly agree.

However, if you have any other guns "on the books", then when they come for those guns, they are probably not going to stop with just those guns - they will likely search for all others.

Now if the confiscation/ban process involves turning in firearms or a "buy back", then it turning in only those guns "on the books" is something to consider. Given the number of guns in the USA, this is the most likely scenario. Some people might experience visitations by LEOs, but probably not all, and surely not all owners at once. Most likely any visitations will be gradual over time, in part to set an example and encourage remaining owners to comply. Also, LE/gov will pickup owners of banned firearms when owners transport them or LE/goov otherwise encounters the owners with the guns.

That's why they sell 6" ABS pipe with caps, and post hole diggers.

 

[Koda]

Anyone who doesn't think both the federal and state governments have a gun registration hasn't been following gun politics.

If you want to sell a gun that was gifted to you and you want to make certain its clear before the sale there is a free stolen gun phone number you can call the OSP, give them the serial number and they will tell you if its stolen or not. If not, sell away.
Just know that to do that they require the owners name and address, and you've just added one more gun to their registry.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

And keep in mind that any firearm you acquired before August 2015 COULD have been sold by you before any records or background checks were required. So if you bought it from a dealer in 2014 you COULD have sold it in a private sale without any records and who's going to prove differently. If questioned about who you sold it to, you can quite reasonably have forgotten who that was 6 years ago.