National News
Battle over background checks in Nevada heads toward Nov. 8
October 10, 2016 posted by Steve Brownstein
Both sides in a battle over a ballot measure to tighten gun background checks in Nevada say too many criminals have weapons.
They disagree as they attempt to sway voters ahead of the Nov. 8 vote on whether a proposed state law would do anything to keep guns out of the hands of those who already are barred from having them.
“We agree that gang members or anybody else that really wants to get a gun are probably going to get a gun,” said Steve Wolfson, the district attorney in Las Vegas and the highest-profile elected law enforcement official in Nevada to publicly support the measure.
A yes vote on the initiative, Question 1 on the ballot, would require background checks through a licensed gun dealer when most firearms change hands. Exceptions would be made for giving guns to immediate family members, temporary transfers of a weapon while hunting or target shooting, and for immediate self-defense.
Gov. Brian Sandoval, state Attorney General Adam Laxalt and 16 of the state’s 17 elected county sheriffs have joined opponents, who are backed by the National Rifle Association.
Critics have called the initiative a flawed step toward universal firearm registration that would cut into Second Amendment rights of freedom-loving Nevadans, and cost law-abiding gun owners time and money without making them any safer.
