Skip to content

Nevada Moms Demand Action, Everytown Applaud Senate Judiciary Committee for Passing AB291 with Strong School Safety and Mass Shooting Prevention Measures

5.29.2019

On Tuesday, Assemblywoman Jauregui Announced Plans to Introduce Amendments to the Bill that Would Establish an Extreme Risk Law and Require Responsible Storage of Firearms to Prevent Access by Children

CARSON CITY, Nev. – Everytown for Gun Safety and the Nevada chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown, today applauded the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing AB291. Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui introduced amendments to AB291 that would establish an Extreme Risk law and require responsible storage of firearms in order to prevent unauthorized access by children, and the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill with these additions today.

AB291 already included a prohibition on the possession of bump stocks and other devices which can be used to effectively convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic guns. In October 2017, Nevada experienced the deadliest mass shooting in modern history when a gunman opened fire on a concert in Las Vegas and in a matter of minutes, killed 58 people and injured over 400. The gunman used firearm accessories, known as bump stocks, to increase the carnage he could unleash.

“We were thrilled to see Assemblywoman Jauregui include such strong gun safety measures in this bill, and we’re thrilled to see it pass out of committee today,” said Elizabeth Becker, a volunteer with the Nevada chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “These proposals would go a long way to make Nevada a leader when it comes to school safety and preventing mass shootings. We applaud Assemblywoman Jauregui and the Senate Judiciary Committee for standing up for gun sense in Nevada.”

Assemblywoman Jauregui introduced the following additional proposals, which were included in AB291, and passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee today:

  • Strong Extreme Risk legislation, which would empower family members and law enforcement to intervene when a person shows signs they could be a serious risk to themselves or others. This policy empowers family members and law enforcement to get a court order to temporarily prevent a person from accessing guns. When someone is in a state of crisis, or threatening violence against themselves or other people, access to a firearm can mean the difference between life and death. This type of legislation gained traction in the wake of the Parkland shooting, where 14 students and three staff members were shot and killed. Now, 15 states have Extreme Risk laws. More information about how Extreme Risk laws can help prevent mass shootings and suicides is available here.
  • Legislation requiring people to store firearms responsibly to prevent unsupervised access to firearms by children. The majority of school shootings occur after a student has accessed unsecured guns from a parent or family member’s home. This suggests that responsible storage laws, and awareness and implementation in homes, can be an effective tool in addressing the source of guns used in school gun violence.