gunhearing.jpg.JPG

Marcola resident Jerry Jensen, a opponent of a bill that would expand background checks on gun purchases, complains to Senate Judiciary Chairman Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, that he wasn't giving average citizens a fair opportunity to testify.

(Jeff Mapes|The Oregonian)

Update: Read the latest coverage of Wednesday's hearing.

SALEM -- The value of expanding Oregon's gun background check law sparked an emotional debate Wednesday at a packed hearing before a state Senate committee.

Supporters argued that expanding background checks to cover private sales was a sensible expansion of the current law that would help reduce gun violence. But opponents said the law was unenforceable and would only burden lawful gun owners.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, the chief sponsor of the background check measure, introduced Senate Bill 941 last week and indicated that he now intends to move swiftly.

The bill is scheduled for its first work session on Thursday and Prozanski put tight limits on testimony on Wednesday to try to get in as many witnesses as possible -- to the point that many opponents claimed that they didn't have enough time for a serious discussion.

The measure is a top priority of several groups seeking tighter gun laws and -- after being blocked in the Senate in 2013 and 2014 -- now appears to have enough votes to pass the chamber.

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and Mike Reese, the city's former police chief, led off the hearing by saying that Portland officers have already responded to 35 gang shooting incidents in the first three months of the year.

"It is far too easy for a prohibited person to avoid a background check by simply buying a gun from an unlicensed seller," said Reese. He added that a "simple, straightforward background check" is the best way to make it harder for felons and other prohibited persons to buy firearms.

Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Oregon has taken major steps to expand background checks in the past. In 2000, he noted Oregon voters approved background checks for everyone purchasing firearms at gun shows.

Gross said the growth of Internet gun advertisements has made it too easy to conduct sales that aren't covered by these sales. "The Internet hosts the most popular gun show on the planet," he said.

Opponents argued that additional background checks will mostly burden law-abiding gun owners because criminals avoid legal gun sales altogether.

"Most criminals acquire their guns not through legal means, but through thefts" and other illegal methods, said Dan Reid, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association.

Reid said that requiring background checks on private transfers could be a big burden on gun owners. If he goes out of town for several weeks, he said, and he wants to store his guns at a friend's house, this bill would require him to pay for a background check when he dropped off the guns and when he picked them up.

Several opponents also derided background checks, saying that they often incorrectly deny purchases and, although billed as instant, can often delay transactions for hours or even longer.

Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer called it "borderline treasonous" to pass this bill, which he said would further impinge on gun rights. He said there was no way for law enforcement to know when private parties are involved in a gun transfer and said he had "no intention" of trying to enforce the provisions of the bill if it became law.

Palmer won applause from the crowd, as did several other opponents who argued that legislators shouldn't even be considering a bill they regarded as an unconstitutional infringement on gun rights.

-- Jeff Mapes

503-221-8209

@Jeffmapes