Bill allows concealed weapons in public buildings

CARSON CITY - A bill allowing Nevadans with concealed gun permits to pack weapons in courthouses and many other public buildings breezed through the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Friday.

AB166 would allow anyone with a permit to carry a concealed firearm into courthouses, schools, various state or local government buildings and even some prison or jail areas - unless there are metal detectors or signs forbidding firearms.

"This section of law pertains to the good people," said Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, the bill's author. He added that people who have permits to carry concealed weapons have gone through gun-training courses and FBI background checks.

Hettrick believes that if more Nevadans carry concealed weapons the state will be a safer place.

He told the Judiciary Committee about a controversial study conducted by John Lott Jr., a University of Chicago criminologist and economist, showing that areas allowing concealed weapons saw an average 8.5 percent drop in murder rates and a 5 percent drop in rapes.

But gun control groups are skeptical of Lott's findings and don't concede that increasing the places where people can legally carry concealed weapons will reduce crime in the state.

"We don't have any clear definition of whether public safety is enhanced (by concealed guns). There are no good studies that say it is," Eric Gorovitz of the Trauma Foundation said after the hearing. The San Francisco-based foundation lobbies at the state and national level for gun control measures.

"This is a terrible idea because it encourages vigilantism. It encourages relatively untrained individuals to decide when it is appropriate to draw their weapons to protect themselves or others," Gorovitz said.

Any expansion of existing concealed weapon laws is a bad idea because more guns in more places means more shootings, he added.

But Hettrick says concealed weapons actually deter crime. If criminals think there may be someone carrying a weapon in a store, they are less likely to attempt a robbery, he said.

"The existing law guarantees you a place where (criminals) can go and find a person who cannot carry a weapon," Hettrick said.

AB166 would also allow permittees to carry their weapons into buildings listed as off-limits if they have written permission from the building managers.

"It's essential to our clients that we can carry firearms with permission," said Mike Gach of S&W Protective Services, which provides bodyguards.

Out of the 13,000 people authorized to carry concealed weapons in Nevada, only one was involved in a killing, Hettrick added.

"That guy said it was in self-defense," he said. "Apparently it was, because he wasn't tried for murder."

The committee didn't ask Hettrick any questions about his bill and voted unanimously to send it to the full Assembly.

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