• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Perpetual recognition of line-of-duty deaths
      Understanding the boundaries of professional relationships with the...
      Why you should lead from 30,000 feet
      Public perception and trust
      When performance reviews are a waste of time
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Perpetual recognition of line-of-duty deaths
        Understanding the boundaries of professional relationships with the...
        Why you should lead from 30,000 feet
        Public perception and trust
        When performance reviews are a waste of time
    • Editor’s Picks
      • Let’s get moving!
        Heroes of the World Trade Center
        The Promise Gap
        Corruption, collusion and impunity
        Liability challenges in contemporary policing
    • On the Job
      • Testing the waters — literally
        Frankpledge to forensics: A brief history of law enforcement
        Villains and heroes in the Big Apple
        Right place, right time — again
        Some good news on crime
    • Labor
      • The Promise Gap
        Cut the cops, save a dollar?
        Labor release under fire
        Who’s watching the watchmen?
        Crime and punishment (or lack thereof) in Seattle
    • Tech
      • New Mexico license plate readers save lives, lead to “precise...
        A modern field guide to understanding research in policing
        Gear that moves with you
        A new breed of cop car
        The future of patrol is here
    • Training
      • Pushback as a training signal
        Let’s get moving!
        The five minutes before the ambulance
        Navigating danger
        Critical thinking in police training
    • Policy
      • Police pause license plate readers
        Corruption, collusion and impunity
        E-bikes spark public safety concerns
        Try racing without wheels
        Law enforcement accreditation: Why it matters
    • Health/Wellness
      • Addressing stress, vicarious trauma and burnout
        Nervous system regulation
        The nature of the job
        Promoting organizational wellness
        Telling cops to get more sleep isn’t working
    • Community
      • Improving autism awareness
        Shop with a Cop
        Community engagement: What is it moving forward?
        Contradictory crossroads
        Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
    • Offbeat
      • An unexpected burglar
        Police humor only a cop would understand
        Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
    • We Remember
      • A Tribute to Fallen Heroes
        Markers of service and remembrance
        Tragedy strikes Baker to Vegas
        Heroes of the World Trade Center
        Forty heroes: United Airlines Flight 93
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Testing the waters — literally
      Frankpledge to forensics: A brief history of law enforcement
      Villains and heroes in the Big Apple
      Right place, right time — again
      Some good news on crime
  • Labor
    • The Promise Gap
      Cut the cops, save a dollar?
      Labor release under fire
      Who’s watching the watchmen?
      Crime and punishment (or lack thereof) in Seattle
  • Tech
    • New Mexico license plate readers save lives, lead to “precise...
      A modern field guide to understanding research in policing
      Gear that moves with you
      A new breed of cop car
      The future of patrol is here
  • Training
    • Pushback as a training signal
      Let’s get moving!
      The five minutes before the ambulance
      Navigating danger
      Critical thinking in police training
  • Policy
    • Police pause license plate readers
      Corruption, collusion and impunity
      E-bikes spark public safety concerns
      Try racing without wheels
      Law enforcement accreditation: Why it matters
  • Health/Wellness
    • Addressing stress, vicarious trauma and burnout
      Nervous system regulation
      The nature of the job
      Promoting organizational wellness
      Telling cops to get more sleep isn’t working
  • Community
    • Improving autism awareness
      Shop with a Cop
      Community engagement: What is it moving forward?
      Contradictory crossroads
      Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
  • Offbeat
    • An unexpected burglar
      Police humor only a cop would understand
      Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
  • We Remember
    • A Tribute to Fallen Heroes
      Markers of service and remembrance
      Tragedy strikes Baker to Vegas
      Heroes of the World Trade Center
      Forty heroes: United Airlines Flight 93
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Policy

Oregon police unsure if they are exempt from problematic new gun control law

APB Team Published December 20, 2022 @ 7:00 pm PST

iStock.com/Bytmonas

Oregon police are unsure whether a new gun control law that limits magazine rounds and requires permits to purchase firearms will extend to off-duty officers.

Law enforcement experts are also complaining about the cost and feasibility of implementing the law.

Measure 114, which bans magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition and requires permits to purchase any firearm, was recently blocked by a judge in Harney County just before it was intended to take effect.

As the legal battle over the law ensues, many people in Oregon are rushing to stock up on guns and ammo.

For police, it’s not clear whether off-duty officers are exempt from the firearm limitations included in the law if it eventually comes to fruition.

“It’s not clear how existing certified public safety professionals are treated under this ballot measure,” Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner told Fox News. “Both the purchase of weapons and the possession of magazines in excess of 10 rounds, which all of our duty weapons have that.”

Although the measure does exempt military members and law enforcement agencies working in an official capacity from the ban, agencies are unsure where that leaves off-duty officers who take their service weapons home with them.

“What does that mean for our off-duty officers who often are asked to, and in some cases by policy required to, be armed off duty as well?” Skinner asked. “There’s a lot of those unanswered questions we’re hoping to get some clarity around.”

Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan said that in the event the law goes into effect, her department plans to buy 10-round magazines for deputies to carry off-duty.

“We don’t want them potentially getting a charge in another jurisdiction that could risk their police certification and job, so we will look at getting them the lower capacity mags for off duty,” Duncan said in an email.

Law enforcement leaders also complained that the permit requirements, which police officers may have to acquire to purchase a firearm, are unrealistic as training programs offered in the state do not currently satisfy the requirements to obtain those permits.

“Every person, including law enforcement officers wishing to obtain a permit, will first have to complete training that does not yet exist,” Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Jason Myers said in a court statement.

To obtain a permit, applicants must first be instructed on state and federal gun laws, how safely store a firearm, the impact of homicide and suicide on communities, how to report lost or stolen firearms, and must undergo an in-person demonstration of locking, loading, firing and storing the weapon.

John Hummel, the Deschutes County district attorney, said police departments would just need to certify that future training courses satisfy the permit requirements.

“You can bet the private sector is going to ramp up,” he said. “This will be a good business opportunity for central and eastern Oregon, no doubt, where a lot of people are going to be wanting to obtain a permit to purchase.”

According to a court statement by Oregon Association Chiefs of Police Executive Director Kevin Campbell, smaller agencies whose officers purchase their own weapons may have trouble obtaining a firearm under the new law.

“Many of our smaller agencies require new officers to purchase their own handguns for use as duty weapons,” Campbell said. “Those agencies do not have a current supply of handguns to provide to new officers, and new officers will be unable to purchase a handgun without first obtaining the required training and then obtaining a permit to purchase a firearm.”

Law enforcement leaders in the state are also concerned about the potential cost of the new measure.

“Measure 114 placed a substantial amount of work on all law enforcement agencies but came with very little direction, no funding and no additional staffing,” retired Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers said.

According to Clatsop County Sheriff Matt Phillips, departments would need to hire additional employees to handle the increased volume of permit requests.

“That’ll be a challenge for a lot of police departments,” Phillips said. “From an equity perspective, it’s a barrier to people with lower incomes from legally possessing a firearm. It just adds one more expense.”

In total, law enforcement leaders estimate that the average sheriff’s agency in the state will have to pay around $700,000 to implement the permit-to-purchase program.

Permits cost roughly $65 and are valid for five years.

Categories: Policy Tags: off-duty, permit, second amendment, magazine ban, Measure 114, court battle, Law Enforcement, training, gun control, Oregon

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Perpetual recognition of line-of-duty deaths
  • A Tribute to Fallen Heroes
  • NLEOMF Fund announces March 2026 Officers of the Month
  • Markers of service and remembrance
  • Testing the waters — literally
  • Police pause license plate readers
  • Tragedy strikes Baker to Vegas
  • Frankpledge to forensics: A brief history of law enforcement
  • Pushback as a training signal
  • Let’s get moving!

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Let’s get moving!

Let’s get moving!

April 27, 2026

Heroes of the World Trade Center

Heroes of the World Trade Center

April 24, 2026

The Promise Gap

The Promise Gap

April 22, 2026

Corruption, collusion and impunity

Corruption, collusion and impunity

April 21, 2026

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2026 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.