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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Evergreen Federal robbery suspect still at large ... Grand jury says off-duty Medford officer justified in killing knife-wielding shoplifter ... Auditor gives county finances clean bill of health ... Evergreen Federal robbery suspect still at large ... Grand jury says off-duty Medford officer justified in killing knife-wielding shoplifter ... Auditor gives county finances clean bill of health ... OUR VIEW Our View: Why gun background checks matter Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Feb. 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM Posted Feb. 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Oregon lawmakers have once again taken a small step to potentially make it a little harder for a few people who shouldn't have guns to purchase them. And, once again, opponents will howl that closing a loophole won't save any lives and will trample the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens who just want to buy a gun. House Bill 4174, passed by the House Monday, closes the "Charleston loophole," named for the shooting that claimed nine lives in a Charlseton, S.C. church. The shooter in that case was able to buy the gun he used because errors in the background check delayed his application for more than three days. Under federal rules, a purchaser can obtain a gun without a background check if the process takes longer than three days. The original version of HB 4174 would have required would-be purchasers to wait for the background check to be completed no matter how long it took. The bill was amended in committee to extend the cutoff from three days to 10. That's reasonable; the Oregon State Police should be able to complete even the most problematic check in that time. And the OSP should be given enough resources to conduct background checks quickly and accurately. Lawmakers have promised to do that. Here's why background checks are important: In the last four months of 2015, 600 purchases were denied out of more than 262,000 background checks. Of that 600, 52 were fugitives and 205 had felony convictions. Most background checks go through in minutes. According to the OSP, 8,467 background checks were delayed last year — 3.2 percent of the total — but those buyer were five times more likely to fail the check. Legislative opponents demanded that supporters of HB 4174 name one Oregon shooting that would have been prevented by a 10-day window. They couldn't, but that's the wrong question. The right question is, how many of those 600 rejected purchasers might have injured or killed an innocent person had they been allowed to buy a gun because their background check took longer than three days? That's not answerable either, of course. But if extending the background check window from three days to 10 prevents even one shooting, it's worth the minor inconvenience it causes for a few law-abiding gun purchasers. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Feb. 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501