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DMV Requests High-Powered Rifles For Office Safety

Assault weapons
Karen Bleir/AFP/Getty Images

The Department of Motor Vehicles wants to arm security personnel with high-powered weapons.

If you’re driving on Nevada’s roads, chances are a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles may be in your future.

But, no matter how long the line is, try to keep your cool. Because of large crowds and longer wait times, the DMV has requested funding that would prepare its security for the worst.

The agency’s budget request over the next two years includes funding for an “Active Shooter Program,” which would include the purchase of 12 semi-automatic rifles. Although compliance enforcement officers already possess handguns, deputy administrator Sterling Nixon says it may not be enough should an active shooter situation occur.

The accuracy is improved on a high-powered rifle, and they allow for longer shots, Nixon said, thus lessening the chances for others to be hurt. The Active Shooter Program is a national program that some government agencies have opted into for safety reasons.

“Handguns and firearms are prevalent in the state of Nevada,” Nixon said. We lean toward protecting the public with whatever means we have.”

Copyright 2015 KNPR-FM. To see more, visit http://www.knpr.org/.

Sterling Nixon, deputy administrator of compliance enforcement, Department of Motor Vehicles

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Prior to taking on the role of Broadcast Operations Manager in January 2021, Rachel was the senior producer of KNPR's State of Nevada program for 6 years. She helped compile newscasts and provided coverage for and about the people of Southern Nevada, as well as major events such as the October 1 shooting on the Las Vegas strip, protests of racial injustice, elections and more. Rachel graduated with a bachelor's degree of journalism and mass communications from New Mexico State University.