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Giffords Applauds Nevada State Legislature for Taking Action to Pass  Comprehensive Gun Safety Bills

 Hearings on the bills follow recently-signed legislation that expands background checks 

 Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, a survivor of the Las Vegas shooting, authored legislation in the package that includes a bump stocks ban 

April 2, 2019 Giffords , the gun safety organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, praised the Nevada Assembly and Senate for holding a joint hearing of the assembly and senate judiciary committees on comprehensive gun safety bills. Coupled with Governor Steve Sisolak’s signing of a background check bill, the Nevada legislature has made stronger gun laws a priority for the first time since the Las Vegas mass shooting, the worst in modern American history that left 58 people dead and injured more than 800.

Two gun safety bills, A.B. 291, to address the use of bump stocks and known as the 1 October bill, along with A.B. 153, Brooklyn’s Law to strengthen the state’s child access prevention laws, were discussed at the hearing. Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, sponsor of the 1 October bill and a survivor of the Route 91 shooting , testified in support of the legislation. Giffords Law Center Senior Staff Attorney Mike McLively also spoke at the hearing to call for swift passage of the bills because of the damage caused by the gun violence crisis in Nevada.

“Victims and survivors of gun violence deserve a steadfast commitment from lawmakers to stop the spread of this crisis,” said Mike McLively, senior staff attorney at Giffords Law Center. “After 58 people lost their lives in the horrific Las Vegas shooting we all asked ourselves how we could prevent this from ever happening again. A survivor of that very shooting, Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, took on the mantle of passing comprehensive gun safety legislation in Nevada. She’s joined by legislators like Assemblymembers Fumo, Billbray-Axelrod, and Assefa. These Nevada leaders know that whether it’s keeping people safe at a concert or keeping kids away from firearms at home, we can no longer wait for action on this life or death issue. We thank both the Assembly and Senate for holding these hearings, and we look forward to helping push these bills through the chambers and onto the governor’s desk.”

Prior to the Las Vegas massacre, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence uncovered that the cost of gun violence to the state was $2.3 billion alone. In a new report released a year after the mass shooting , Giffords Law Center found the cost increased by 26 percent alone and highlighted how victims, businesses, and Las Vegas residents continue to struggle under the economic burden of our nation’s deadliest mass shooting.

At the hearing, Assemblywoman Jauregui talked about her memories of the Route 91 festival shooting and how she was inspired after Parkland to speak up on the issue of gun violence. In a Giffords blog post, she lays out how A.B. 291 will make communities safer by banning modifications like bump stocks, reducing the acceptable concentration of alcohol present in a person’s blood or breath while carrying a firearm, and allowing towns and cities to implement their own regulations to keep their communities safe from gun violence.

A.B. 153, introduced by Assemblymembers Ozzie Fumo, Shannon Billbray-Axelrod, and Alexander Assefa would create criminal liability for individuals who negligently store or leave a firearm in a location under their control when they know there is a “substantial risk” that an unauthorized child could gain access to the firearm. This would help to strengthen Nevada’s Child Access Prevention laws by expanding their coverage to include negligent storage. This bill is called “Brooklyn’s Law” based on a tragic accident where a 13-year-old was killed by her friend when they found an unlocked gun in the kitchen.

Earlier this year, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed S.B. 143, a bill establishing background checks in the state. In its latest edition of the  Annual Gun Law Scorecard,  Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence found that Nevada received a “D.”