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WA/OR Differences

kwiebe

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Jun 16, 2009
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Tacoma, Washington, United States
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I'm a WA resident, new to both CC & OC, but I'm planning ahead (I will have my WA CPL soon). Anyway, since I go to OR several times a year, I started looking into law differences:

I see that OR does not recognize the WA CPL. I also see that it's possible to get an OR "CHL" (Concealed Handgun License), even if a WA resident. However, in OR you need a certificate saying you've passed a safety class, and I also read this:

"The county sheriff may waive the residency requirement in subsection (1)(c) of this section for a resident of a contiguous state who has a compelling business interest or other legitimate demonstrated need," the sheriff of each county has some discretion for a resident of a contiguous state. You would need to check with the sheriffs to see what their requirements are."

So, I have a couple of questions, and some comments following those:

1. How does one satisfy the course requirement? i.e., can I take a class in WA and will it be recognized? Just wondering if anyone has experience here, I may google more and also post in the OR forum.

2. In practice, what's this about individual county sheriff discretion? I'm not talking about business travel - but I do go pretty often to visit family, vacations, etc. I guess OR can do what it wants regarding non-residents, but this is pretty vague and also to have it vary by county seems weird. Anyone go through this? What kind of justification is typically required?

Is this just a case of, "Why bother - just OC in OR?"

I had that thought, so read the OR firearms laws. I kinda skimmed em, so don't hold me to it. But from what I read, it sounds like OC in OR is a lot less susceptible to misinterpretation by LE than it is in WA. Correct?

After listing their CC restrictions, the OR law flatly says the following (from ORS 166.250):

"(3) Firearms carried openly in belt holsters are not concealed within the meaning of this section."

Seems pretty cut-and-dried regarding OC in OR. Plus, is it true that OR has no statute equivalent to RCW 9.41.270, which seems to cause all of the OC problems in WA?
 

kparker

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Nov 10, 2006
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Yes, OC is more clearly defined in Oregon law.

However, Oregon also allows municipalities to ban carry unless the carrier has a Concealed Hangun License, thus making a CHL for Oregon as essential as it is here in WA (where you can't carry your loaded handgun in any vehicle w/o a CPL.)

I recommend Columbia County; here's a thread on my experience, with a link in the 3rd post to another, lengthier explanation.

http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=15791&forum_id=45
 

Phssthpok

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kparker wrote:
Yes, OC is more clearly defined in Oregon law.

However, Oregon also allows municipalities to ban LOADED carry unless the carrier has a Concealed Hangun License, thus making a CHL for Oregon as essential as it is here in WA (where you can't carry your loaded handgun in any vehicle w/o a CPL.)

I recommend Columbia County; here's a thread on my experience, with a link in the 3rd post to another, lengthier explanation.

http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=15791&forum_id=45

Fixed that for you.....just to avoid misinformation.

If the bulk of your stay is outside of the localities which have exercised the option to prohibit loaded carry, then (IMHO) I'd say it's not worth it. You just need to remember to unload when in those towns (even just passing through).

As far as I've been able to determine, Portland is the only city that specifically requires you to unload your magazine as well....none of the other city codes make mention of such a requirement. I OC quite a bit in Portland, Beaverton, and Tigard so I try to keep up on these things.
 

kparker

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Phssthpok,

Good catch! Thanks for the clarification.

I'm not sure I'd dissuade anyone from getting an Oregon CHL, though. It's not difficult or expensive, and gives you the ability to travel hassle-free anywhere in the state w/o worrying about town boundaries or anything like that.
 

grishnav

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Jan 31, 2008
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The other major "gotcha!" in Oregon law is the public buildings bullshit. It's a felony to carry a firearm (loaded or not) until a building owned by the State or any of it's municipalities -- so don't OC into the bathroom at an Oregon rest stop without an Oregon CHL!
 
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