No surprise here: Plenty of responsible gun owners support Question 1

By Mikey Kelly, special to the Sun

Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Editor's note: With Election Day on the horizon, the Sun is presenting a special package of guest columns today from supporters of Ballot Question 1, which would expand background checks for firearms purchases. The Sun endorses the measure.

Over the summer, members of the Gun Owners for Background Checks coalition met at a member's home in Summerlin to write letters and make phone calls in support of Question 1, the Background Check Initiative.

We reached out to more than 300 fellow gun owners who are registered to vote, and we urged them to support Question 1. It was no surprise that we received positive responses from many of our fellow gun owners — because requiring background checks is just common sense and something a majority of gun owners support.

Gun Owners for Background Checks is a coalition of hundreds of Nevada gun owners, including dozens of current and former members of the National Rifle Association. As a member of both the Gun Owners for Background Checks and Veterans for Background Checks coalitions, I know how strongly I and other Nevadans value our right to bear arms.

Our constitutional rights are sacred. But we also know that with that right comes the responsibility to do our part to make sure that dangerous people do not have access to guns.

Let’s be clear — Question 1 does not infringe on our constitutional rights. When I sell a gun or just let a friend borrow one for the day or the weekend, I want to know definitively that the person in possession of my gun while it’s out of my supervision is actually legally allowed to have it. Background checks not only keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but they also give responsible gun owners like me peace of mind.

The opposition to Question 1 spends a lot of time talking about how this initiative would impact and inconvenience law-abiding gun owners. But as a law-abiding gun owner myself, I don’t find anything inconvenient about doing my part to help make our state safer and save lives.

I’ve gone through background checks when I’ve bought my guns — they’re quick and easy. Over 97 percent of Nevadans live within 10 miles of a licensed dealer who can conduct a background check, and the vast majority of background checks are completed on the spot in under 90 seconds.

The only people Question 1 would inconvenience are felons, fugitives and other dangerous people who are trying to get guns that they aren't supposed to have under existing law. By closing the loophole in the law and requiring background checks on all gun sales with a few reasonable exceptions, we can make it harder for criminals to get guns.

The gun lobby especially likes to claim that Question 1 won’t make a difference or reduce gun violence, but this is simply wrong. In states with similar laws, rates of women shot and killed by their intimate partners and gun suicides were cut nearly in half. Will it solve all gun violence? Of course not. But we can’t ignore the fact that requiring background checks on all gun sales saves lives.

As a gun owner and a veteran, I take both my fundamental right to bear arms and my commitment to gun safety seriously and personally. I would do anything to ensure that one of my guns never ends up in the wrong hands. And I know that’s something all of us responsible gun owners agree on. I urge you to join us in voting yes on Question 1.

Mikey Kelly is an Army veteran and a member of Gun Owners for Background Checks and Veterans for Background Checks.