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Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Back issues
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Nevada Governor Signs Gun Control Bill Into Law

A law tightening Nevada gun restrictions in the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 that left 58 people dead was signed by the governor Friday.

(CN) – A law tightening Nevada gun restrictions in the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 that left 58 people dead was signed by the governor Friday.

Governor Steve Sisolak signed Assembly Bill 291, which bans bump stocks and limits how much alcohol can be in the system of a person carrying a gun outside the house.

“In October 2017, Nevada experienced the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history when a gunman opened fire on a concert in Las Vegas and, in a matter of minutes, killed 58 people and injured over 400,” Sisolak, a Democrat, said after signing the bill at the Grant Sawyer Building in Las Vegas. “This past session, Nevadans stood together and took bold action to try and prevent these tragedies in the future.”

The “1 October Bill,” as it is known, also opens the door for family members or police to seek an order forcing individuals to relinquish their firearms if they are a danger to themselves or others.

“This legislation establishes extreme risk protection orders to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a risk of harming themselves or others,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy.

The bill was written by Nevada Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, who survived the shooting at the country music festival in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017.

“We'll never be able to go back and protect those who have been taken from us because of gun violence, but because of the actions that we took in Nevada we are making our communities a safer place,” she said Friday.

President Donald Trump signed a federal law this year banning bump stocks, a piece of equipment attached to guns that makes them fire in rapid succession but compromises accuracy.

They were used by the gunman in Las Vegas, who fired more than 1,1000 rounds of ammunition from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel over about 10 minutes.

The bill included an “extreme risk” provision allowing family members or police to seize the firearms of individuals deemed to be a risk to themselves or others – a direct response to the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 students and staff were killed and 17 others were injuried.

“Students and teachers reported that the mass shooter in the February 2018 Parkland, Florida, tragedy displayed threatening behavior,” Sisolak said. “His mother had contacted law enforcement on multiple occasions regarding his behavior, and he was known to possess firearms. However, without an Extreme Risk law on the books, law enforcement couldn’t intervene.”

Florida passed its own version of an extreme Risk raw in response to the shooting in Parkland.

Nevada’s law also mandates the proper storage of firearms, locked and away from the reach of children, and requires a blood alcohol level below .08 to legally carry a firearm outside the home, a reduction from the previous level of .10.

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Categories / Government, Regional

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