Gun control activists push for expanded background checks
Dozens of Las Vegas gun control activists rallied in the west valley Thursday night as part of a national push to get Congress to act on their behalf.
Moms Demand Action, part of the Everytown for Gun Safety organization, held gatherings across the U.S. as Congress returned from recess. State senators joined families and activists near a bus stop on the corner of West Sahara Avenue and Fort Apache Road to hold signs, share opinions and stories, and also to tweet.
State Senate Minority Leader Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas, spoke at the event about the most recent legislative session's "crazy" gun bills, including an expansion of the state's "stand your ground" laws. He said numerous high-profile shootings this summer raise the idea that Nevada needs to expand background checks for firearm purchases.
Activists at the event brought up national tragedies such as the June slaying of nine people at an African-American church in Charleston, S.C., and the August shooting death of TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward in Virginia at the end of August. A pledge by Parker's father to "do whatever it takes" to reduce gun violence inspired the theme for Thursday's gatherings and the Twitter hashtag #WhateverItTakes.
"Background checks could have stopped that," Ford said. "It's perfect common sense."
The National Rifle Association, on the other hand, doesn't see the point of universal background checks, because the national database used to carry out those checks contains incomplete information.
NRA spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen said the man who killed the Virginia journalists, Vester Flanagan, actually passed two background checks.
"That system is broken," she said.
The NRA advocates support fixing the country's failing mental health system over closing so-called background check loopholes like Internet and gun show sales, she said.
"Not a single one of these recent high-profile shooters bought firearms online or at a gun show," Mortensen said.
But the Moms Demand Action group in Las Vegas is ramping up its campaign to get voters in 2016 to pass a state ballot initiative expanding background checks. The group's main weapon at Thursday's rally was a heart-wrenching story from a gun violence survivor.
Stephanie Pizzoferrato, 34, of Las Vegas, fought back tears as she recounted the story of her daughter Dayla's 2011 death from a stray bullet. The 4-year-old had just finished learning how to safely handle a BB gun with her family on public land when a bullet came out of nowhere and killed her.
The shooter was never caught in that case, and Pizzoferrato made a mission of advocating for gun safety and training.
"My life's work is not to take away anyone's rights," she said.
Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl
