Lawmakers aim to keep guns away from youths

CARSON CITY -- A Clark County assemblywoman has asked for a bill to make adults criminally liable if a weapon used in a crime committed by youngsters is taken from their home.

Assembly- woman Gene Segerblom, D-Boulder City, said she doesn't object to people having guns but they have to be responsible for keeping them unloaded and in a safe place.

"All these shootings by juveniles are by guns taken from their own home," she said referring to two Battle Mountain 15-year-olds who have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of the parents and the 12-year-old sister of one of the teens.

Segerblom's statement came after the Legislative Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice in Nevada heard a report on requiring trigger locking devices on guns to prevent their firing.

Assemblywoman Jan Evans, D-Sparks, who heads the subcommittee, said she and other members had received calls after the Battle Mountain shooting suggesting gun locks be required. Evans said the issue needs more in-depth study before any action is taken.

Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, said requiring a trigger lock was "feel good legislation ... and it would not accomplish anything to decrease juvenile crime."

While James said it may be prudent for parents to consider trigger locking devices, the government ordering the devices would be a knee-jerk reaction to the problem of youth violence, he said.

The report on trigger locking devices was authored by Juliann K. Jenson, a senior research analyst for the Legislative Counsel Bureau who said none of the states has enacted a law requiring gun owners to use trigger locks.

Trigger locks are similar to a padlock that wraps around the trigger and immobilizes it. Before the lock which requires a key is applied, the ammunition must be removed for safety reasons.

The locks can be purchased in most gun stores for about $13.

Massachusetts and Connecticut require trigger locks to be sold with each gun and cities in California and Illinois have passed similar laws. Smith and Wesson, a leading manufacturer of handguns, packages all of its handguns with trigger locks.

Voters in Washington, however, recently defeated a proposal to require trigger locks.

In her report, Jenson said "... it appears that trigger locks are a contentious issue, especially when discussed in the legislative arena." She added that lawmakers will be faced with difficult choices regarding firearms and juvenile violence.

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