Bill mandates background checks for gun sales

CARSON CITY — Groups on both sides of the gun control debate are mustering their forces for a legislative hearing Tuesday on a bill that would require background checks for private-sale weapons purchases.

Senate Bill 221, which passed the Senate on an 11-10 party-line vote this past week, might end up being the most hotly contested measure of the 2013 Legislature.

Sponsor Sen. Justin Jones, D-Las Vegas, said his bill will keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.

Opponents argue criminals will just ignore the law but law-abiding gun owners will be further burdened.

The bill moved out of the Senate Finance Committee on a 4-3 party-line vote on Tuesday after a powerful group of speakers, including family members of the 26 Sandy Hook Elementary School pupils and staff who were shot dead in Newtown, Conn., in December and family members of the four people shot dead at the Carson City IHOP in 2011, asked Nevada lawmakers to support it.

The speakers were sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, formed in 2006 to advocate against gun violence. The organization is co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

OPPONENTS SPEAKING UP

Opponents of the measure were not a visible presence in the Legislative Building when the bill moved out of committee and over to the Assembly, where the Judiciary Committee will take up the measure.

But a campaign against the bill is now fully underway in advance of the Assembly hearing.

The National Rifle Association, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the Nevada Republican Party are all asking opponents of the bill to contact members of the committee to voice their views.

Some Senate Republican lawmakers have said they support the background checks sought in the bill, but that the measure goes too far in affecting law-abiding gun owners and has too many exceptions to the background check requirement.

Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, has argued that criminals will simply acquire weapons in violation of the law should the bill pass and be signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Sandoval said in a statement he is monitoring the legislation but has not yet made a decision on whether to support it.

In its action alert, the groups opposed to the bill reference the Memorial Day holiday in asking for opponents to make their views known.

“We hope that your Memorial Day weekend is off to a great start,” the groups said in an email release sent Saturday. “Unfortunately, the Nevada Legislature never rests at this point in the session, and we need to ask you to take some action this weekend to honor the sacrifices our fallen service members made to defend our rights, including the right to keep and bear arms.

“The Nevada Legislature is moving quickly on legislation that will unjustly interfere with the right to keep and bear arms, and will be holding a hearing first thing Tuesday morning to approve universal background checks for firearm transfers in Nevada, including most private transfers between individuals,” the alert said.

SHOOTING VICTIM FAMILIES

At a rally in support of the bill on Tuesday, Gilles Rousseau, whose daughter Lauren, was among those slain at Sandy Hook Elementary School, asked the Legislature to pass the measure, calling it a chance to do something historic in Nevada.

“Lauren died doing what she loved, teaching young children,” he said. “And she died in her classroom, while bravely trying to protect her children from danger.”

Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son Jesse was also killed in Newtown, also asked lawmakers to pass the bill.

Background checks are critical to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people, he said.

“You are never going to be able to stop all the gun violence or prevent every shooting that occurs,” Heslin said. “But anything we can do to cut down the odds and the percentage and the chances of it occurring again is something that needs to be done.”

The speakers stayed in Carson City through the final Senate vote.

Assembly Judiciary Chairman Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, said the bill has garnered a lot of attention.

“I think anytime we’re dealing with gun measures you are going to have some people with some really strong feelings and passion involved,” he said.

Frierson said he will read the bill this weekend, having waited until the Senate was finished with the measure.

“I don’t believe in committing until I have not only read the bill but heard from the support and opposition so that I can make an informed decision,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the conversation.”

Jones’ bill is the only major piece of Second Amendment legislation to move through the Legislature this session.

The bill would require federally licensed gun dealers to run background checks on private party gun sales for a fee of $30. More than 500 federally licensed firearms dealers operate around the state.

Jones said in previous testimony that the background check could be performed within five minutes in 95 percent of the cases, allowing the sale to proceed immediately.

In cases where the check cannot be performed right away, Jones said the buyer and seller could just decide not to complete the check, or they could leave the gun with the dealer until the check is complete, he said.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.