Oregon’s new law requiring background checks for private gun transactions has local law enforcement leaders doubtful it will keep guns out of the wrong hands. And prominent local gun businesses this week reported no one has come to them for the checks.

Not that it would matter much — most gun retailers are not even offering the service for private transfers.

Senate Bill 941 went into effect Sunday, Aug. 9, and expands background checks to include most private and online gun transfers. The law requires both parties in a private gun transaction go together to a licensed gun dealer who would charge a fee to conduct the background check on the buyer to make sure that person is not a felon or has other prohibitions in place from having a gun.

Gun background checks in Oregon go through the Oregon State Police. SB 941 authorizes state police to notify appropriate law enforcement agencies when a check flags the recipient. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said his department already deals with such referrals.

“These types of cases are losers from the get-go because in theory both parties have culpability,” he stated. “Therefore, their motivation to cooperate is significantly diminished either due to their strong belief that the new law is an infringement on their constitutional right or a host of other reasons.”

Roberts also questioned if the law would keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, but that does not mean Pendleton police will ignore the law.

“We will handle such cases as we do any other,” Roberts stated, “… the solvability factors will dictate priority and allocation of time/resource.”

Time and resource allocation also is a concern for Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan.

“First of all, with limited resources, we’re going to be dealing with higher priority stuff before we’re even looking at this,” he said.

And while he said he gets the intent of the law, bad guys will find ways to get guns, from stealing them to buying on the black market.

“I think the only thing is,” he said, “it will make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to transfer weapons.”

Rowan said lawmakers may need to revise SB 941 so it is specific to buying and selling guns. He said the language of transferring is too vague, and law-abiding citizens who would, for example, loan a gun to a friend during a hunting trip now could face criminal charges.

“That doesn’t make much sense to me,” Rowan said.

Still, Rowan said he was not going as far as other Oregon sheriffs who stated they would not enforce the law. His oath of office requires he enforce the laws of the land, he said, even though this state law seems to conflict with the right to bear arms in the U.S. Constitution.

Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said if state police send his department any referrals, he is likely to send it right back.

Edmiston explained Hermiston police for a decade used the Oregon State Police Law Enforcement Data Systems to conduct criminal background checks for businesses in town that sell firearms. But state police last year notified Hermiston it was out of line for using the system to go on “fishing expeditions” for offenders, Edmiston said, so he ended the practice, although it also inhibits Hermiston police from providing solid investigations to the district attorney.

“I personally think it is ridiculous to, in essence, to handcuff local law enforcement from knowing what is going on in their community,” Edmiston stated.

Still, the new law may not mean much more work or worry for local cops. Checks with Bi-Marts and Wal-Marts in Pendleton and Hermiston revealed their sports counters are not even offering the background checks for private transactions. That’s also the same for Elite Guns & Bows nor Garner’s Sporting Goods, both in Pendleton.

Elite’s owner Jeff Bradbury said there is no money in offering the checks, and all the paperwork and tracking of a private gun transaction would be too time-consuming.

“It’s quite a process,” he said. “You have to be really careful with what you log.”

Rick Hadden, owner and operator of Garner’s for 39 years, also said he sees too many complications and possible pitfalls to offer the service. Both business owners also said no one has asked them to do the checks.

Two businesses confirmed they offered the checks — Elite Guns & Bows, Hermiston, and Ranch & Home, Milton-Freewater — but they did not report any customers asked for the checks.

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Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian and 541-966-0833.