Sheriffs Won’t Enforce Nevada Background Check Law

posted on January 4, 2017
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We told you yesterday about how Nevada’s new Michael Bloomberg-funded “universal” background check law, which was very narrowly passed by voters in November, had been declared “unenforceable” by the state attorney general. Now county sheriffs in the state are announcing that they won’t be enforcing it.

According to a report in the Reno Gazette-Journal, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it and the Lyon County District Attorney’s Office “support” the opinion that the new law is unenforceable, adding, “We will not enforce any provisions of this ballot initiative until the issues have been resolved.” The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office released a statement that it is “advising its citizens that they may proceed with private party firearm sells and transfers as they did prior to the passing of ballot question #1.”

Proponents of the measure are scrambling for a way to revive the ill-conceived law. But under Nevada state law, laws passed by ballot initiative cannot be altered for three years.

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