What to Know About Gun Safety Laws in Nevada as Voters Head to the Polls for the 2024 Elections 

Early Voting Began on October 19 and Ends on November 1 in Nevada 

CARSON CITY, Nev. – As voters head to the polls in Nevada, the stakes for every office on the ballot could not be higher for gun safety. Nevada has a mixture of good and bad gun laws, ranking 19th in the country for the strength of its gun safety laws. Electing gun sense champions at every level is critical to making progress on gun safety — because gun extremists in office puts communities at greater risk of the gun lobby’s “guns everywhere” agenda. 

“Gun violence is a top issue for voters across the state, and during this election, the stakes have never been higher,” said Wendy Starkweather, a volunteer with the Nevada chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Over the course of the past two years, Republican lawmakers, led by Governor Joe Lombardo, have blocked the enactment of nearly every gun safety measure aimed at curbing this crisis that the gun sense majority in the Legislature has advanced. Now, we have an opportunity to hold them accountable and elect gun sense candidates up and down the ballot that prioritize our safety over the gun lobby’s interests.” 

Here’s What to Know About Where Nevada Stands on Gun Safety Before November 5th:

• In 2023 the gun sense majorities in the legislature passed a trio of gun safety bills, including measures that sought to prohibit those convicted of hate crimes from possessing firearms, prohibit guns at and around polling places, and raise the age to possess semiautomatic assault weapons to 21. Governor Lombardo vetoed the measures and Republicans didn’t support efforts to overturn the vetoes. 

• In 2024, Governor Lombardo defended his veto of a bill aimed at regulating “ghost guns,” untraceable, homemade firearms. The bill, AB355, was designed to close a loophole from a 2021 law which had banned ghost guns in Nevada. As a candidate he downplayed the ghost  gun crisis, misleading the public by classifying it as “not a big issue.”  Despite him knowing about the crisis and the bill’s passage by the gun sense legislature, Lombardo vetoed it, and Republicans didn’t support efforts to overturn the veto. 

• Nevada does not prohibit the purchase and possession of assault weapons originally designed for military use nor the purchase of high capacity ammunition magazines, nor does it allow cities and towns from passing gun violence laws tailored to their specific needs. 

Gun safety advocates in Nevada are prepared to vote out the elected officials who have stood in the way of progress because they know that their communities deserve stronger gun safety laws that will save lives. 

Now more than ever, voters need the facts about what is in stake to understand the critical need to elect politicians across the state that have the courage to support lifesaving common-sense gun violence prevention policies rather than catering to the political games of the gun lobby. In states where elected officials have taken action to pass gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence. 

Here’s a list of Moms Demand Action volunteers in Nevada who have taken their advocacy into their campaign and are running for office: 

• Tameka Henry, candidate for Clark County School District Board of Trustees, District C
• Karl Catarata, candidate for Clark County School District Board of Trustees, District A
• Jovan Jackson, candidate for Nevada State Assembly, District 6 
• Sandra Jauregui, candidate for Nevada State Assembly, District 41

In an average year, 568 people die by guns and 481 people are injured in Nevada. 68% of gun deaths in Nevada are by gun suicide. Gun violence costs Nevada $6.7 billion each year, of which $104.3 million is paid by taxpayers. Additional information on gun violence in Nevada is available here and here.

If you are interested in speaking with a survivor of gun violence in Nevada, Moms Demand Action or Students Demand volunteer, or a policy expert please reach out to [email protected].