71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 83
 
                         House Bill 2409
 
Ordered printed by the Speaker pursuant to House Rule 12.00A (5).
  Presession filed (at the request of Representative Lane
  Shetterly for Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police, Oregon
  State Sheriffs Association)
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Exempts peace officers and federal officers from prohibitions
against possessing firearms in court facilities.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to courtroom security; amending ORS 166.370.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 166.370 is amended to read:
  166.370. (1) Any person who intentionally possesses a loaded or
unloaded firearm or any other instrument used as a dangerous
weapon, while in or on a public building, shall upon conviction
be guilty of a Class C felony.
  (2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in   { - paragraph (b) - }
 { +  paragraphs (b) and (c) + } of this subsection, a person who
intentionally possesses:
  (A) A firearm in a court facility is guilty, upon conviction,
of a Class C felony. A person who intentionally possesses a
firearm in a court facility shall surrender the firearm to a law
enforcement officer.
  (B) A weapon, other than a firearm, in a court facility may be
required to surrender the weapon to a law enforcement officer or
to immediately remove it from the court facility. A person who
fails to comply with this subparagraph is guilty, upon
conviction, of a Class C felony.
  (b) The presiding judge of a judicial district may enter an
order permitting the possession of specified weapons in a court
facility.
   { +  (c) Peace officers, as defined in ORS 161.015, and
federal officers, as defined in ORS 133.005, while acting in
their official capacities, may possess firearms in a court
facility. + }
  (3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:
  (a) A sheriff, police officer, other duly appointed peace
officers or a corrections officer while acting within the scope
of employment.
  (b) A person summoned by a peace officer to assist in making an
arrest or preserving the peace, while the summoned person is
engaged in assisting the officer.
 
  (c) An active or reserve member of the military forces of this
state or the United States, when engaged in the performance of
duty.
  (d) A person who is licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 to
carry a concealed handgun.
  (e) A person who is authorized by the officer or agency that
controls the public building to possess a firearm or dangerous
weapon in that public building.
  (f) Possession of a firearm on school property if the firearm:
  (A) Is possessed by a person who is not otherwise prohibited
from possessing the firearm; and
  (B) Is unloaded and locked in a motor vehicle.
  (4) The exceptions listed in subsection (3)(b) to (f) of this
section constitute affirmative defenses to a charge of violating
subsection (1) of this section.
  (5)(a) Any person who knowingly, or with reckless disregard for
the safety of another, discharges or attempts to discharge a
firearm at a place that the person knows is a school shall upon
conviction be guilty of a Class C felony.
  (b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply to the
discharge of a firearm:
  (A) As part of a program approved by a school in the school by
an individual who is participating in the program; or
  (B) By a law enforcement officer acting in the officer's
official capacity.
  (6) Any weapon carried in violation of this section is subject
to the forfeiture provisions of ORS 166.280.
  (7) Notwithstanding the fact that a person's conduct in a
single criminal episode constitutes a violation of both
subsections (1) and (5) of this section, the district attorney
may charge the person with only one of the offenses.
  (8) As used in this section, 'dangerous weapon' means a
dangerous weapon as that term is defined in ORS 161.015.
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