Nevada Preemption Provision May Die in Senate Committee

May 17, 2019

By

Matthew Hoy

Restricted Arms reported earlier this year that one of the provisions included in an omnibus gun control bill making its way through the Nevada legislature stripped a 2015 preemption rule from state law, allowing local municipalities—specifically Clark County, home of Las Vegas—to pass more stringent gun laws than those of surrounding counties.

Reports from the Nevada Current reveal that lobbying against the provision may be having a beneficial effect.

“We’ve had a number of stakeholders reach out over the past few days to express some concerns about this bill,” said Cheryl Bruce, executive director for the Nevada Senate Democrats, via email. “Before we proceed with moving the bill forward, we want to make sure we are having conversations with anyone who has an interest in it.”

Bruce did not identify the “stakeholders,” and did not respond to a follow-up email.

While the legislation would ban bump stocks and other gun modifications, and lower the amount of alcohol that can be present in the blood of a person in possession of a firearm, it would also undo 2015 legislation that preempted local municipalities from passing ordinances in response to gun violence.

Multiple sources told Nevada Current they fear that when the bill gets another hearing, the provisions restoring local government authority will be amended out.

The reasons for state-level preemption laws are to prevent gun owners from inadvertently violating a patchwork of local laws as they carry their firearm from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It's difficult enough for gun owners to familiarize themselves with the patchwork of state laws as they travel across the country; encountering new regulations every five to 10 miles quickly begins to become more than any citizen can be reasonably expected to know and understand.

While state preemption laws in theory work both ways—prohibiting both more and less stringent local laws—the latter case has not happened in the history of recorded time.

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