Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

EDITORIAL:

The numbers add up: Nevada needs to close gun loophole

In addition to choosing a president, members of Congress, legislators and other leaders this fall, Nevada voters will be asked to decide a ballot question related to gun safety.

In essence, that question is whether Nevada should close a loophole that allows purchasers of guns from private sellers to avoid background checks.

It’s a measure designed to help keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.

Look at some key numbers behind the measure and you’ll find they add up to an inescapable conclusion. Here’s the equation:

5,379: Number of gun sales that were blocked through background checks over the past three years in Nevada. By federal law, checks must be conducted on all purchases from licensed dealers, but they’re not required for transactions involving private sellers at gun shows, on the internet and elsewhere. The ballot question would extend the federal law to private sales and transfers of firearms. Among those barred by law from legally obtaining weapons are felons, violators of domestic violence laws and the mentally ill. Under existing law, those 5,379 people could easily have gone to an unlicensed dealer at a gun show or online to buy a gun. Might they still be able to get one without the measure? Yes. Would it be more difficult? Absolutely.

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23: Number of years that a mandate has been in place for background checks for buyers of guns from licensed firearms dealers. Five years after Congress passed the mandate, which was part of the Brady Bill, the FBI implemented its National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The requirement for background checks has survived court challenges since it was enacted.

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1.3 million: Number of sales that have been blocked nationally through background checks since the NICS was implemented.

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15%: As reported by PolitiFact, the estimated portion of U.S. gun sales that take place between buyers and unlicensed sellers who are not family members or friends, according to a 2015 Harvard study that is being prepared for publication.

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18: Number of states that have approved expansion of background checks to private sales.

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35,000: Annual number of online ads for guns in Nevada on sites that connect buyers with private sellers. There is no background check required for these purchases.

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1,036: Number of Nevadans killed with guns in the past decade, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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65%: Amount that Nevada’s domestic gun violence rate exceeds the national average.

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No. 5: Nevada’s rank among the most dangerous states for women.

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85%: Share of respondents to a July 2105 Pew Research Center poll who supported extending the check system. Support was strong among both Republicans (79 percent) and Democrats (88 percent).

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270-350 million: Estimated number of guns in the U.S. Why the huge range in the estimate? There is no comprehensive, centralized national registry for firearms. There is a federal collection of purchase records, but it contains only documents from licensed dealers who have gone out of business. In addition, by federal law it cannot digitize the records, which instead are kept in boxes and on microfilm.

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A Yes vote on Question 1 is the right choice for Nevada.

This editorial has been modified to correct information about the number of states that have approved background check extensions. In the original version, the number was lower.

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