This Weekend Marks Nine Years Since the Shooting at Clackamas Town Center. Since Then, a Grassroots Movement Has Changed the Secure Gun Storage Landscape.

Nearly nine years ago, a 22 year-old gunman shot three people — two fatally — at Clackamas Town Center in Clackamas, Oregon. The shooter used an unsecured rifle. Since the shooting, the state has passed a secure storage law to require firearms be stored locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition. Secure storage laws can prevent school shootings, unintentional shootings, and gun suicides — all of which affect children and teens in Oregon. Right now, firearms are the second leading cause of death among children and teens in the state.

In 2021, Oregon signed the first gun safety bill into law in the last two years after gun sense champion Governor Kate Brown signed SB 554, legislation to require firearms be securely stored when not in use. Throughout the 2021 legislative session, alongside partners, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers and supporters sent over 8,750 digital actions, including 8,542 emails and 208 calls, to Oregon lawmakers, in addition to numerous tweets, supporting gun safety legislation.

Since the secure storage legislation has gone into effect, volunteers have been working to implement the policy at the local level. Volunteer leaders are working with school boards to pass secure storage notifications to make sure parents and guardians know the importance of securely storing firearms and the new law. Thanks to the work of Moms and Students Demand Action volunteers across the country more than 1.5 million students live in a district with these notifications.

If you are interested in learning more about Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers’ work to implement the secure storage law in local communities, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Additional information on gun violence in Oregon is available here, and Everytown’s Gun Law Navigator — which shows how Oregon’s gun laws compare to those of other states — is available here.