Are Binary Triggers Legal in Oregon? ORS 166.352 and Penalties

No, binary triggers are not legal in Oregon. ORS 166.352 classifies them as “rapid fire activators” and makes possession a crime, with no grandfather clause for devices bought before the ban and no amnesty period for turning them in. Selling, manufacturing, or transporting one into the state is treated far more harshly than simply owning one, and the federal government’s more permissive stance offers no protection inside Oregon.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 166 – Offenses Against Public Order; Firearms and Other Weapons; Racketeering

What ORS 166.352 Actually Prohibits

The statute makes it a crime to possess, purchase, receive, transport, manufacture, sell, or transfer a rapid fire activator in Oregon. A rapid fire activator is defined broadly as any device that, when attached to a firearm, increases the rate at which the trigger activates or the rate of fire beyond what a shooter could achieve without it.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 166 – Offenses Against Public Order; Firearms and Other Weapons; Racketeering

Binary trigger systems are named specifically. The law defines a binary trigger system as a device that, when installed in or attached to a firearm, allows it to fire both when the trigger is pulled and when the trigger is released. The same statute also covers bump stocks, forced-reset triggers, hellfire triggers, burst trigger systems, auto sears, switches, and any copies or similar devices regardless of the manufacturer.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 166 – Offenses Against Public Order; Firearms and Other Weapons; Racketeering

That “regardless of the manufacturer” phrase matters. A binary trigger from a well-known brand carrying an ATF approval letter is still prohibited. Oregon banned the category, not specific products.

Penalties

Oregon treats having a binary trigger and moving one very differently.

The gap is enormous. Keeping a binary trigger in a safe is a misdemeanor. Handing one to a friend, even as a gift, is a felony transfer. Driving one across the state line is a felony. Anyone trying to clean up by passing the device to another Oregonian is making the problem dramatically worse.

Who Can Legally Have One

ORS 166.352 contains only two exceptions:

There is no exception for collectors, competitive shooters, licensed dealers, or gunsmiths. There is no grandfather clause for people who bought their binary trigger before the statute took effect, and the legislature did not include a grace period, buyback, or surrender process. Anyone in Oregon currently holding a binary trigger is already in violation.

Federal Law Doesn’t Protect You in Oregon

Under federal law, a machine gun is any weapon that shoots more than one shot automatically by a single function of the trigger.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5845 – Definitions The ATF has not classified standard binary triggers as machine guns, reasoning that a binary trigger requires two separate shooter actions: a pull fires one round, a release fires the second. Because each action produces a single shot, the device does not meet the federal definition.

Sold as a standalone part, a binary trigger is not a firearm under federal law, and in states where it remains legal you do not need a dealer or background check to buy one. None of that changes anything in Oregon. State law bans the device outright, and the federal classification offers no defense.

The same mismatch applies to other devices Oregon lumps into the rapid fire activator category. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Garland v. Cargill that bump stocks are not machine guns under federal law,3Supreme Court. Garland v. Cargill – Slip Opinion and the ATF’s attempt to classify certain forced-reset triggers as machine guns is being chipped away in federal court. Oregon named both devices in its statute. Both remain illegal to possess in Oregon no matter how the federal fight ends.

If You Already Own One

Because the statute offers no amnesty, current owners have to find a lawful way out on their own. Practical options are narrow:

  • Ship or personally deliver the device to someone in a state where it remains legal, after confirming that state’s rules.
  • Permanently disable the trigger mechanism so it no longer functions as a rapid fire activator.
  • Store it at a location outside Oregon, which keeps you from “possessing” it in the state, provided you do not transport it back through Oregon.

Do not try to solve the problem by selling the device locally or giving it away to another Oregon resident. That turns a misdemeanor into a Class B felony.

Traveling Through Oregon With a Binary Trigger

Owning one legally in another state does not create a right to carry it across Oregon. The moment the device crosses the border, Oregon’s transport prohibition applies, and transport is on the felony side of the statute. The federal Firearms Owners’ Protection Act gives limited safe-passage protection for lawfully owned firearms moving through restrictive states, but that protection covers firearms themselves, not aftermarket trigger components. A locked case in the trunk is not a legal defense.

Oregon is not alone on this. California prohibits what it calls a “multiburst trigger activator” under Penal Code section 32900, with penalties that can reach a year in county jail or state prison,4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 32900 and Washington bans mechanisms that let a firearm fire without a separate trigger pull for each shot. Plan any route accordingly.