166.370 Possession of firearm or dangerous weapon in public building or court facility; exceptions; discharging firearm at school. (1)(a) 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.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, in a prosecution under this section for the possession of a firearm within the Capitol, within the passenger terminal of a commercial service airport with over one million passenger boardings per year, within a building subject to a policy described in ORS 166.377 (3) or on school grounds subject to a policy described in ORS 166.377 (1), if the person proves by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the time of the possession, the person was licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 to carry a concealed handgun, upon conviction the person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) 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.
(C) A firearm in a local court facility is guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C felony if, prior to the offense, the presiding judge of the local court facility entered an order prohibiting firearms in the area in whi
Stored review status: 2025_edition_later_amendments_unresolved. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
Official chapter context and edition notices
Chapter 166 — Offenses Against Public Order; Firearms and Other Weapons; Racketeering
Uncodified sections printed in this chapter were amended or repealed by the Legislative Assembly during its 2026 regular session. See the table of uncodified sections amended or repealed during the 2026 regular session: 2026 A&R Tables
New sections of law were enacted by the Legislative Assembly during its 2026 regular session and pertain to or are likely to be compiled in this ORS chapter. See sections in the following 2026 Oregon Laws chapters: 2026 Session Laws 0120
2025 EDITION
PUBLIC ORDER OFFENSES
CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
RIOT, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, HARASSMENT AND RELATED OFFENSES
BIAS CRIME
AUTHORITY TO REGULATE FIREARMS
POSSESSION AND USE OF WEAPONS
(Generally)
(Possession of Weapons in Public Buildings or Court Facilities)
(Destructive Devices)
(Duties of Firearm Owners and Possessors)
SALE OR TRANSFER OF FIREARMS
EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS
DISCHARGING WEAPONS
POSSESSION OF BODY ARMOR
MISCELLANEOUS
RACKETEERING
RIOT, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, HARASSMENT AND RELATED OFFENSES
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Authority boundary: official snapshot extraction not current law verified.
Stable record: oregon_criminal_law:legal_authorities:166.370 Source file: ors166.html Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded Passage SHA-256: 44600d324710954857e2b996540b0198815c63f47a030700efad3ca163e7e275 Retained source evidence SHA-256: dd35e0da63555ebef88cc11cd6ae4309a37c3b744978829c3b2f00d59c0c08b8
Source location: ORS 166.370 (all printed versions and notes)
Stored source content
166.370 Possession of firearm or dangerous weapon in public building or court facility; exceptions; discharging firearm at school. (1)(a) 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.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, in a prosecution under this section for the possession of a firearm within the Capitol, within the passenger terminal of a commercial service airport with over one million passenger boardings per year, within a building subject to a policy described in ORS 166.377 (3) or on school grounds subject to a policy described in ORS 166.377 (1), if the person proves by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the time of the possession, the person was licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 to carry a concealed handgun, upon conviction the person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) 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.
(C) A firearm in a local court facility is guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C felony if, prior to the offense, the presiding judge of the local court facility entered an order prohibiting firearms in the area in which the court conducts business and during the hours in which the court operates.
(b) The presiding judge of a judicial district or a municipal court may enter an order permitting the possession of specified weapons in a court facility.
(c) Within a shared court facility, the presiding judge of a municipal court or justice of the peace district may not enter an order concerning the possession of weapons in the court facility that is in conflict with an order entered by the presiding judge of the circuit court.
(3) Subsection (1)(a) of this section does not apply to:
(a) A police officer or reserve officer, as those terms are defined in ORS 181A.355.
(b) A parole and probation officer, as defined in ORS 181A.355, while the parole and probation officer is acting within the scope of employment.
(c) A federal officer, as defined in ORS 133.005, or a certified reserve officer or corrections officer, as those terms are defined in ORS 181A.355, while the federal officer, certified reserve officer or corrections officer is acting within the scope of employment.
(d) A person summoned by an officer described in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subsection to assist in making an arrest or preserving the peace, while the summoned person is engaged in assisting the officer.
(e) An honorably retired law enforcement officer.
(f) An active or reserve member of the military forces of this state or the United States, when engaged in the performance of duty.
(g) A person who is licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 to carry a concealed handgun, except as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section.
(h) 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.
(i) An employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, acting within the scope of employment, who possesses a firearm in the course of the lawful taking of wildlife.
(j) 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.
(k) A person who possesses a firearm in the passenger terminal of a commercial service airport, if the firearm is unloaded and in a locked hard-sided container for the purposes of transporting the firearm as checked baggage in accordance with federal law.
(4)(a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section, the exceptions listed in subsection (3)(d) to (k) of this section constitute affirmative defenses to a charge of violating subsection (1)(a) of this section.
(b) A person may not use the affirmative defense described in subsection (3)(e) of this section if the person has been convicted of an offense that would make the person ineligible to obtain a concealed handgun license under ORS 166.291 and 166.292.
(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;
(B) By a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity; or
(C) By an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, acting within the scope of employment, in the course of the lawful taking of wildlife.
(6) Any weapon carried in violation of this section is subject to the forfeiture provisions of ORS 166.279.
(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. [1969 c.705 §§2,4; 1977 c.207 §2; 1979 c.398 §2; 1989 c.839 §22; 1989 c.982 §5; 1991 c.67 §39; 1993 c.625 §1; 1999 c.782 §7; 1999 c.1040 §4; 2001 c.666 §§24,36; 2003 c.614 §6; 2009 c.556 §6; 2015 c.351 §2; 2015 c.709 §4; 2021 c.146 §10; 2025 c.594 §3]
Cross-references
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Oregon criminal law — ORS Title 16 (2025 snapshot) · legal_authorities
161.015 General definitions. As used in chapter 743, Oregon Laws 1971, and ORS 166.635, unless the context requires otherwise:
(1) “Dangerous weapon” means any weapon, device, instrument, material or substance which under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted to be used or threatened to be used, is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury.
(2) “Deadly weapon” means any instrument, article or substance specifically designed for and presently capable of causing death or serious physical injury.
(3) “Deadly physical force” means physical force that under the circumstances in which it is used is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury.
(4) “Peace officer” means:
(a) A member of the Oregon State Police;
(b) A sheriff, constable, marshal, municipal police officer or reserve officer as defined in ORS 133.005, or a police officer commissioned by a university under ORS 352.121 or 353.125;
(c) An investigator of the Criminal Justice Division of the Department of Justice or investigator of a district attorney’s office;
(d) A humane special agent as defined in ORS 181A.345;
(e) A regulatory specialist exercising authority described in ORS 471.775 (2);
(f) An authorized tribal police officer as defined in ORS 181A.940; and
(g) Any other person designated by law as a peace officer.
(5) “Person” means a human being and, where appropriate, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a government or a governmental instrumentality.
(6) “Physical force” includes, but is not limited to, the use of an electrical stun gun, tear gas or mace.
(7) “Physical injury” means impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.
(8) “Serious physical injury” means physical injury which creates a subst
166.279 Forfeiture of deadly weapons. (1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, ORS 131.550 to 131.600 do not apply to the forfeiture of a firearm or other deadly weapon that was possessed, used or available for use to facilitate a criminal offense.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, at the time of sentencing for any criminal offense in which a firearm or other deadly weapon was possessed, used or available for use to facilitate the offense, the court shall declare the weapon to be contraband and order that the weapon be forfeited.
(3) If a firearm or other deadly weapon that was possessed, used or available for use to facilitate a criminal offense was stolen from its lawful owner and was recovered from a person other than the lawful owner, the court may not order that the weapon be forfeited but shall order that the weapon be restored to the lawful owner as soon as the weapon is no longer needed for evidentiary purposes.
(4) The court shall release a firearm or other deadly weapon forfeited under subsection (2) of this section to the law enforcement agency that seized the weapon. The law enforcement agency may destroy or sell the weapon, use the weapon as a service weapon or use the weapon for training, identification or demonstration purposes. When a weapon is sold pursuant to this subsection, the law enforcement agency shall pay the proceeds from the sale, less the costs of the sale, as provided in ORS 131.594 and 131.597.
(5) As used in this section, “deadly weapon” has the meaning given that term in ORS 161.015. [2003 c.614 §4; 2005 c.830 §24]
166.291 Issuance of concealed handgun license; application; fees; liability. (1) The sheriff of a county, upon a person’s application for an Oregon concealed handgun license, upon receipt of the appropriate fees and after compliance with the procedures set out in this section, shall issue the person a concealed handgun license if the person:
(a)(A) Is a citizen of the United States; or
(B) Is a legal resident noncitizen who can document continuous residency in the county for at least six months and has declared in writing to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services the intent to acquire citizenship status and can present proof of the written declaration to the sheriff at the time of application for the license;
(b) Is at least 21 years of age;
(c) Is a resident of the county;
(d) Has no outstanding warrants for arrest;
(e) Is not free on any form of pretrial release;
(f) Demonstrates competence with a handgun by any one of the following:
(A) Completion of any hunter education or hunter safety course approved by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife or a similar agency of another state if handgun safety was a component of the course;
(B) Completion of any National Rifle Association firearms safety or training course if handgun safety was a component of the course;
(C) Completion of any firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public offered by law enforcement, community college, or private or public institution or organization or firearms training school utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle Association or a law enforcement agency if handgun safety was a component of the course;
(D) Completion of any law enforcement firearms safety or training course or class offered for security guards, investigato
166.377 Possession of firearms in certain public buildings by concealed handgun licensees. (1) The governing board of a public university listed in ORS 352.002, the Oregon Health and Science University Board of Directors, the governing board of a community college or a district school board as defined in ORS 332.002 may adopt a policy providing that the affirmative defense described in ORS 166.370 (3)(g), concerning persons licensed to carry a concealed handgun under ORS 166.291 and 166.292, does not apply to the possession of firearms on the grounds of the schools controlled by the board.
(2) A board that adopts a policy under subsection (1) of this section shall:
(a) Post a clearly visible sign, at all normal points of entry to the school grounds subject to the policy described in subsection (1) of this section, indicating that the affirmative defense described in ORS 166.370 (3)(g) does not apply.
(b) Post a notice on the board’s website identifying all school grounds subject to the policy described in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) The governing body of a city, a county or a district as defined in ORS 198.010 may adopt a policy, ordinance or regulation providing that the affirmative defense described in ORS 166.370 (3)(g), concerning persons licensed to carry a concealed handgun under ORS 166.291 and 166.292, does not apply to the possession of firearms within a building owned or controlled by the governing body that is used by the governing body for official meetings.
(4) A governing body that adopts a policy under subsection (3) of this section shall:
(a) Post a clearly visible sign, at all normal points of entry to the buildings subject to the policy described in subsection (3) of this section, indicating that the affirmative defense described in ORS 1
166.173 Authority of city or county to regulate possession of loaded firearms in public places. (1) A city or county may adopt ordinances to regulate, restrict or prohibit the possession of loaded firearms in public places as defined in ORS 161.015.
(2) Ordinances adopted under subsection (1) of this section do not apply to or affect:
(a) A law enforcement officer.
(b) A member of the military in the performance of official duty.
(c) A person licensed to carry a concealed handgun.
(d) A person authorized to possess a loaded firearm while in or on a public building or court facility under ORS 166.370.
(e) An employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, acting within the scope of employment, who possesses a loaded firearm in the course of the lawful taking of wildlife.
(f) An honorably retired law enforcement officer, unless the person who is a retired law enforcement officer has been convicted of an offense that would make the person ineligible to obtain a concealed handgun license under ORS 166.291 and 166.292. [1995 s.s. c.1 §4; 1999 c.782 §8; 2009 c.556 §3; 2015 c.709 §1]
166.373 Possession of weapon in court facility by peace officer or federal officer. (1) Notwithstanding ORS 166.370 (2) and except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a peace officer, as defined in ORS 161.015, or a federal officer, as defined in ORS 133.005, may possess a weapon in a court facility if the officer:
(a) Is acting in an official capacity and is officially on duty;
(b) Is carrying a weapon that the employing agency of the officer has authorized the officer to carry; and
(c) Is in compliance with any security procedures established under subsections (3) and (4) of this section.
(2) A judge may prohibit a peace officer or a federal officer from possessing a weapon in a courtroom. A notice of the prohibition of the possession of a weapon by an officer in a courtroom must be posted outside the entrance to the courtroom.
(3) A presiding judge of a judicial district or a municipal court or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may establish procedures regulating the possession of a weapon in a court facility by a peace officer or a federal officer subject to the following:
(a) The procedures for a circuit court must be established through a plan for court security improvement, emergency preparedness and business continuity under ORS 1.177 or 1.180;
(b) The procedures for a justice court or a municipal court may only prohibit the possession of weapons within the area in which the court conducts business and during the hours in which the court operates;
(c) Within a shared court facility, the presiding judge of a municipal court or justice of the peace district may not establish procedures in conflict with the procedures established by the presiding judge of the circuit court; and
(d) Notice of the procedures must be posted at the entrance to