Gun background check initiative clears hurdle, heads to Legislature

A measure to enhance the state’s gun laws will be up for debate in the Legislature and potentially on the 2016 ballot.

Nevadans for Background Checks collected 166,779 signatures on a petition that forces legislators to address gun laws in the upcoming legislative session and guarantees a spot on the next election’s ballot if lawmakers don’t act, according to the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office.

The announcement is a victory for background check advocates who have been fighting for years to see the law change.

The initiative addresses what advocates call a dangerous loophole in state gun laws.

Unlicensed firearm dealers at gun shows and other private gun sales don’t require consumers to participate in FBI processed background checks. That gives felons, the mentally ill and others who are not legally allowed to purchase firearms the ability to buy them, according to the initiative.

The initiative was backed by Nevadans for Background Checks, a group funded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. For years, Bloomberg-funded groups in Nevada and nationwide have targeted Congress and states to change the laws.

Bloomberg groups supported legislative efforts in Nevada in 2013 when state lawmakers passed a bill that would have closed the loophole during that year’s session. But Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed it.

Its attempt in Congress also proved fruitless. Even after elementary school students were gunned down in Newtown, Conn., Congress did not act to close the loophole.

The Legislature will have the first 40 days of the session to vote on a bill that would enact the changes proposed in the ballot initiative supported by Nevadans for Background Checks. If lawmakers don’t approve it, the measure will be on the 2016 ballot.

Sixteen states have passed laws to require that more gun purchases go through background checks.

Bill Young, former sheriff of Clark County, said in a media release that Nevadans want tighter background checks.

"I know we need to do all we can to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons, domestic abusers and people with dangerous mental illnesses,” he said. "Today begins the process of sending background checks to the Nevada ballot — and it represents a step toward keeping Nevadans safer from those dangerous individuals.”