Secure Storage in Oregon

Gun owners in Oregon are required to store guns securely in their homes and vehicles to prevent unauthorized access by children/teens and theft.

To comply with state law, gun owners must securely store their firearms any time the firearms are not in their control* or being carried, including any time a firearm is stored in a residence where no one is home, where children are present, or where there are adult guests present. Firearms must also be secured when they are left unattended in a vehicle.

Secure firearm storage requires either:

• Securing the firearm with a trigger or cable lock (and ensure that the key or combination to the lock is not easily accessible to anyone not authorized to use the firearm),
• Storing the firearm in a locked container (such as a tamper-resistant box, locker, or safe), or
• Storing the firearm in a locked room that is secured by tamper-resistant locks and is kept locked any time it is not occupied.

This secure storage requirement applies to any location where a gun owner stores a firearm, including in a parked vehicle. Any handguns left unattended in vehicles must also be hidden from view.

Gun owners may be subject to civil penalties if they fail to follow these requirements and may be held liable in a legal action arising from harm caused due to the failure to securely store firearms as required by this law.

* A gun is considered to be under a person’s “control” either when it is close enough that the person could prevent an unauthorized person from accessing it, or when the person is in their own secured residence alone or only with other authorized adult residents.

If you’ve made the decision to bring a gun into your home, it’s important to know how responsible gun owners work to keep their families safe by mitigating the inherent risks associated with firearm ownership. Every responsible gun owner securely stores their guns so that they are inaccessible to children and other people who are at risk of harming themselves or others. Here’s why:

• More than 700 children die by gun suicide each year, most often using guns belonging to a family member.
• Nearly 360 children under the age of 18 unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else each year.
• At least one-third of youth gun suicides and unintentional deaths could be prevented with increased secure storage.
• More than 200,000 guns are stolen from individuals every year—a significant portion of those are stolen from cars.

Safety is always an adult responsibility. Kids will be kids, so it’s always an adult’s responsibility to keep children safe. Always assume that curious or impulsive kids may find and touch an unsecured gun, even if they’ve been told not to. If a child handles a gun, a bad decision can quickly become a fatal one. Be SMART adults protect kids by making sure all guns are stored securely, which means they are inaccessible to kids, and by making sure children are never in the presence of unsecured guns.