LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A proposed bill could raise the age to buy semiautomatic rifles and shotguns in Nevada from 18 to 21.
The measure was introduced in Carson City on Monday and is sponsored by Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, Assemblyman Steve Yeager, and Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno.
In Nevada, 21 is the legal age limit to have a concealed carry permit or to buy a handgun, but other semi-automatic weapons don't have that same age restriction.
Lawmakers said Assembly Bill 355 would make it a gross misdemeanor for anyone under 21 to possess or control a semiautomatic shotgun or rifle. It would also require those weapons to be unloaded and stored in a securely locked container when they're not being used.
First-time offenders who allow anyone under 21 to use those weapons would be guilty of a category C felony. Second-time offenders could fail one to six years in jail along with a fine of up to $5,000.
Last month, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives released a new report, which showed that over 900 guns had been stolen or misplaced in Nevada since 2019.
Federal officials said Nevada had the highest rate of firearms stolen in the country, though they noted an outlier year, where a single theft accounted for more than half of the firearms stolen.
The report also shows a spike in conversion devices — such as bump stocks — being used to make semiautomatic guns fire like machine guns.
That device was used by the gunman who carried out the 1 October attack that left 58 people dead and two others dying later from their injuries in the deadliest mass shooting in history.
Nevada is one of several states that have passed legislative bans on owning or selling bump stocks after Governor Steve Sisolak signed the state measure into law in June 2019.
On the federal level, former President Donald Trump put a rule in place banning bump stocks following 1 October.
However, this past January, a federal appeals court ruled against the measure saying that ban should be put in place by Congress and not the president. Three other federal appeals courts have rejected challenges to the ban. Back in October, the Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from two other earlier decisions.
Congressman Steven Horsford issued the following statement after the ruling was handed down.
“Bump stocks made possible the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, which occurred here in Nevada on October 1, 2017. Although Congress has been unable to take action to outlaw this dangerous product, the Administration’s rule provided at least a glimmer of hope in our fight to end some of this senseless gun violence plaguing our communities. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the House and the Senate to find a legislative solution, and I hope that ultimately the Supreme Court will weigh in and allow the Justice Department’s ban to stay in place.”
Other Nevada lawmakers including Representative Dina Titus and Senator Jacky Rosen have also supported a federal bump stock ban.
On the anniversary of the #1October massacre, I wrote to @SenSchumer & @SpeakerPelosi urging them to pass a bill that would make #bumpstocks illegal.
— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) October 1, 2022
