Henderson city code language update suggestions upset residents, coalition

Josh Reid, the Henderson city attorney, said the city has been working over the last few months to remove or alter language that has been included in several different codes.

One of the city’s latest adjustments was to clarify a 1954 law in a chapter on “weapons and missiles.”

“It’s just modernizing the language,” Reid said. “This isn’t a change to our policy.”

The code regulated how to register weapons, what a concealed weapon is and rules on discharging firearms. It even prohibited throwing rocks and using other devices such as switchblades and nunchucks, martial arts weapons.

Because it hasn’t been modified, the code has dated language such as requiring people to register guns with the chief of police. Reid said the code was written when it was easier to find the police chief and wouldn’t make sense now.

Bill No. 2743 was supposed to be discussed at the July 2 City Council meeting but was withdrawn.

City officials haven’t said when the bill would return to a City Council meeting.

The Nevada Firearms Coalition and residents opposed the bill.

Several comments were submitted to Contact Henderson, an online forum for comments and complaints, voicing concern for the bill.

Don Turner, the Firearms Coalition’s president, said Nevada is a “Dillon rule” state, in which cities are given authority to enact or enforce codes with the authority of the state legislature.

In 1989, Nevada passed Assembly Bill 147, which prevented cities from regulating firearms usage. But since Henderson created its ordinance before the bill, its pre-existing code was grandfathered in.

Some language would add clarification such as letting people know they can bring in their handgun and fill out paperwork with the Henderson Police Department to be registered in the Metropolitan Police Department’s system — not just with the police chief. Other modifications would be to match current legislation.

Since its creation, the legislature also added more regulations such as Senate Bill 92 in 2007, which laid out time requirements for registration.

The Nevada Firearms Coalition thinks that instead of making amendments, the ordinance should be eliminated altogether.

“The code is no longer valid,” Turner said. “If they change the code, they lose their 1989 protection.”

Reid said the Nevada Firearms Coalition’s arguments are misleading.

“Section 5 (of SB 92) states if a city doesn’t change the operation of the law, the legislation changes it for us,” Reid said. “Just because (the city) didn’t change doesn’t mean the validity of the ordinance is affected.”

Turner said it is problematic that Henderson is using the Clark County database for its registration.

“Nowhere in the legislation does it say the city can use Clark County for registration,” he said.

Reid argues that the city contracts out numerous services for efficiency.

“If you vote for a candidate in a Henderson election, you have to be a Henderson resident,” he said. “We don’t register people. You register with the county.”

Along with thinking the city is in violation of state law, the coalition also said the registration program is costly, ineffective and should be eliminated altogether.

Turner said he has asked the Clark County Sheriff’s Office twice to audit the registration program. He added that the office could better use its employees’ time to stop crime instead of having them handle paperwork to register guns.

Reid said part of the fight boils down to resistance over gun registration in general.

“These groups hate handgun registration,” he said. “They think it’s going to give government access to find out where all the guns are.”

The organization is weighing its options in case the bill passes.

Turner said the organization could wait for someone to be arrested under violation of the new code and challenge the arrest with a lawsuit.

Regardless of if it passes, Reid said the only thing changing is the language.

“Even if it doesn’t pass, there will still be a handgun registration,” Reid said. “This just makes the language clearer.”

Henderson had been going through the code to modernize language of its ordinances for the past six months.

Reid said city officials were hoping to have it done by now, but because it is time consuming, they don’t want to inundate council meetings with updates.

“So we do some at every council meeting,” Reid said.

For more information, visit cityofhenderson.com/city_clerk/index.php.

Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 702-387-5201.