Portland City Council votes to ban concealed carry in City Hall after hero dad with a gun stopped Bend school shooter

Oregon’s Senate Bill 243, passed in 2025, lets local governments take away the “affirmative defense” that allowed licensed carry holders to be armed in public buildings, with a possible misdemeanor charge.

Police and security guards can still carry weapons, along with other public safety employees.

This comes after a case in October when a hero father in Bend, Oregon, armed with a weapon, was able to stop a mass shooter at a school. The father, whose daughter was inside the school, was driving past the school and saw the shooter entering, and was able to quickly intervene and kill the shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School with his .40-caliber handgun. The gunman, Griffin J. John II, had killed 3 children before the father, Kaylub Giamanco, was able to stop him from hurting more people.

Council Vice President Olivia Clark said that she had second thoughts about voting due to the Silver Rail case but ultimately voted yes to restrict citizens with guns in Portland City Hall, per Seattle Red. The vote was 12-0.

Council President Jamie Dunphy said in June that most people follow the law, stating, “we’re governing for 15%.”

Councilor Loretta Smith drafted a proposal to let councilors open carry after protestors disrupted a meeting back in February but dropped the proposal after backlash.

Washington’s gun preemption law, RCW 9.41.290, limits regulation to the Legislature.

In October, 17 individuals were charged by federal and local authorities in Oregon with illegal firearms and drugs in a crackdown. The US Attorney for the District of Oregon, Scott Bradford, said that it was personal, as his own nephew was a victim of Portland’s gun violence earlier this year. Bradford said, “We will continue using every tool to protect our neighborhoods and ensure those who endanger our community face justice.”