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Nevada's Gun Background Check Initiative On November Ballot

David Gilkey/NPR
David Gilkey/NPR

The handgun sales counter at Northwest Armory in Portland, Ore.

Gun control advocates in Nevada have put background checks on the November ballot.

The group Nevadans for Background Checks believes the initiative will create a level playing field where all gun sellers must follow the same set of rules.

Right now in Nevada, felons, domestic abusers and people with severe mental illness can buys guns from unlicensed sellers with no questions asked.

Why? Because federal law only requires background checks for gun sales at licensed dealers.

So, will Nevadans approve of stricter gun laws in November?

Jan Jones Blackhurst is a co-chair of Nevada's for Background Checks. She said, if approved, the proposal would not change how most people buy a gun. She said the initiative is just looking to close two big loopholes for online and gun show sales.

Teresa Lowry is a former Clark County assistant district attorney. She told KNPR's State of Nevada since the background check went into effect it has effectively blocked the sale of guns to people who should not have them. 

She said the initiative seeks to do the same thing at gun shows and Internet sales. 

Lowry said that besides domestic abusers and felons the background check would also blocks guns from being sold to people who have been adjudicated as mentally ill. 

 

 

Jan Jones Blackhurst, co-chair Nevadans for Background Checks, vice president of communications and government relations Caesars Entertainment Corp.; Teresa Lowry, former Clark County assistant district attorney

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