Martha Bellisle

RGJ

Publication date: Oct. 24, 2011

Law enforcement leaders, a shooting victim and some lawmakers are calling for a review of Nevada's gun laws after a mentally ill man shot 11 people with an assault weapon at a Carson City restaurant last month, leaving five dead.

Some states have responded to mass killings by banning assault weapons, outlawing high-capacity magazines or requiring gun owners to get licenses and release their mental health records.

And now, after the IHOP shooting, some in Nevada have called for similar state-level restrictions and bans on some firearms. But others oppose new firearm restrictions based on what they say is a knee-jerk reaction to a tragedy, and say the call for tougher laws is simply an effort to curtail the right to bear arms.

Nevada National Guard Sgt. Caitlin Kelley, one of the victims in the IHOP attack, responded to the shooting by calling for a ban on assault weapons, which can be purchased without a background check at many gun shows or through private sellers.

"I can't imagine why we are even selling assault weapons to civilians," said Kelley, who was shot in the foot and still uses a wheelchair. "There's no reason for an AK-47 or an M-16 or an M-4 to be in a civilian's home."

Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley agreed, saying: "I don't see any logic to having assault weapons available to the public." But he said banning such weapons would spark a sharp response by gun-rights advocates.

Robert Smith, president of the Nevada State Rifle and Pistol Association, said guns are not the problem -- the problem lies with the people using them.

"It isn't the weapon that's bad, it's the person" who commits crimes with the weapons, he said. "If you keep them away from private citizens, you're making the private citizens unarmed targets."

Semi-automatic assault weapons can easily be converted into automatic weapons -- which are the same thing as machine guns -- with a simple kit available online or at gun shows, officials said.

What happened at the IHOP "was as close to a war as most people will ever come, and they were helpless to defend against it," Haley said. "But because of our love affair with weapons, we are subjecting the public to this type of violence. If this is going to change, the public has to stand up and demand change."

Eduardo Sencion's AK-47-style firearm had been illegally modified by an unknown person to fire as an automatic weapon. Despite being diagnosed as schizophrenic, Sencion legally purchased the weapon from a private seller in California. He also legally owned several other guns.

Lawmakers: Should state's laws change?

At least one Las Vegas lawmaker believes that the Nevada Legislature should consider changes to the state's gun laws after the Carson City IHOP shooting. At the same time, other lawmakers believe that while a discussion is prudent, that doesn't mean change is necessary.

Nevada Assembly Majority Whip William Horne, D-Las Vegas, who chairs the Assembly Judiciary Committee, said he was "unsettled" to learn that machine guns are legal in Nevada, but questioned whether Nevadans would support bans on any weapons.

But Horne said now would be an appropriate time for lawmakers to consider changes to the state's gun laws after so much bloodshed.

"I think it's a good question to ask: Why does a typical citizen need to have an assault weapon?" Horne said. "I think we're at the point where we have to have that discussion. Can we protect citizens without impacting other people's rights?"

"I'm a gun owner. I believe in people's rights," he said. "But I don't know anybody who uses an AK-47 to hunt. To what degree do you need a machine gun to protect your home? Do you need a bazooka?"

Horne said he had no plans to introduce bills on the issue, but looked forward to committee talks on the topic.

State Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, said he expects to see bills introduced at the 2013 legislative session that seek to toughen Nevada's gun laws in response to the IHOP shooting, but said he has no plans to sponsor any of these bills.

"I think there's a natural desire to re-evaluate any landscape in the wake of a tragedy," Kieckhefer said. "There's nothing wrong with having a discussion about them, but I generally believe people who are law-abiding citizens should have their Second Amendment rights protected."

Daniel Vice, a senior attorney with the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said his organization keeps an annual scorecard on state gun laws, and Nevada is one of the "worst states in the country for protecting its citizens against gun violence."

Out of 100 possible points, Nevada has a score of five points, he said.

"There are almost no positive laws in Nevada to keep guns away from dangerous people," he said.

At the same time, a study by the Violence Policy Center, based in Washington, D.C., said Nevada was fifth in the nation for gun-related deaths. The center's analysis was based on 2007 data compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Center for Injury Prevention and Control. The firearm data included homicides, suicides and unintentional firearm deaths.

"States with higher gun ownership rates and weak gun laws have the highest rates of overall gun death according to a new analysis," the study said.

The Violence Policy Center said Nevada shares the top five spots on that list with other states with weak gun laws, and defined "weak" to be those states that have added little or nothing to federal restrictions and registration requirements.

"The equation is simple," said Kristen Rand, legislative director for the Violence Policy Center. "More guns lead to more gun death, but limiting exposure to firearms saves lives."

Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Bellevue, Wash.-based Second Amendment Foundation, said Nevada's gun laws are adequate, and said organizations such as the Brady Center seek to end all access to guns.

"They want to make it as restrictive as possible to buy a gun, even for something as important as self-defense," Gottlieb said.

Statistics from the foundation state that: "firearms are used defensively roughly 2.5 million times per year. This amounts to 2,575 lives protected for every life lost to a gun."

The foundation said that car accidents, drowning and fires each kill more children under the age of 15 than guns.

One of the witnesses to the IHOP shooting said he had a weapon but opted not to use it because he couldn't go up against an assault weapon.

"I had my pistol," Local's BBQ owner Ralph Swagler told a reporter after the shooting. "But I wasn't going up against an automatic rifle."

Carolyn Herbertson, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, said she supports Nevada gun owners who oppose restrictions on their rights.

"I don't believe any more gun laws would have prevented the IHOP shooting," she said, adding that it's unwise to change laws based on emotion.

First a federal ban, then states took over

Machine guns are legal in Nevada as long as they are registered with the federal government, but semiautomatic assault weapons can be purchased at some gun shows without a background check -- a pattern some officials find troubling.

Within the past year, the U.S. Attorney's office in Nevada has charged numerous people for illegally buying firearms from Las Vegas-area gun dealers. The buyers used other people to make the sale or lied on the documents presented to gun dealers. The weapons obtained were "civilian version or replicas of tactical or military firearms."

One case involved 18 machine guns and another 18 semi-automatic rifles, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Las Vegas.

Some question whether the gun-show or gun-dealer sales should be allowed.

A federal law banning semiautomatic assault weapons was passed in 1994 but expired in 2004 and was not renewed. The ban prohibited the manufacture and sale of new semiautomatic assault weapons, but those made before the ban could still be sold. It also included high-capacity magazines that carry 30 rounds or more.

Since the federal assault weapons ban expired, seven states, including California, New York and New Jersey, have implemented their own bans. Bills in Congress seeking to renew the federal assault weapons ban have not been successful.

Automatic weapons -- which are the same thing as machine guns -- were not included in the 1994 ban because the manufacture and sale of new machine guns had already been banned by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

Automatic weapons in circulation before 1986 were excluded from the ban, and people can legally possess one in the United States as long as they register it with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and pay a $200 transfer tax for each weapon when it changes hands.

Besides automatic weapons, federal law also requires the registration of other weapons, including silencers, short-barreled rifles and shotguns and "destructive devices" which include Molotov cocktails, anti-tank guns with a caliber of .50 or higher, bazookas and mortars. The ATF reports that there were 1,236 silencers registered in Nevada in 2000 and 6,385 "destructive devices."

The ATF keeps track of these tallies but said it was prohibited from releasing information on individual owners because the registration is based on tax records, which cannot be made public.

A firearms detective and officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said the current system for federally registering machine guns is problematic because federal law prohibits the ATF from telling local law enforcement who has the guns.

"It would be nice to know," said officer Laura Meltzer, spokeswoman for the department. "If we're working a barricade situation, it would be a good resource to alert the officer that this person has a machine gun."

Haley, who supports a ban on assault weapons, said the easy accessibility of these weapons make both the public and law enforcement vulnerable.

"The laws don't prohibit someone from straw-buying or selling their own semiautomatic to anyone," he said. "That makes everyone who goes to restaurants or is walking in public potential targets of anyone who chooses to use these weapons of war on private citizens."

Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said these guns have one purpose.

"What is the absolute use of an automatic weapon?" he said. "It's used to kill people." But he questioned whether a ban on the weapons would stop tragedies like the IHOP shooting.

State Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said she was opposed to making laws based on an emotional response to a situation, but questioned whether a prohibition on assault weapons would ensure safer communities.

"It's hard for me to understand why the average citizen would need an assault weapon with a high-capacity magazine," she said. "If we can minimize and lessen the tragedy and have fewer people wounded our killed, it's worth looking at."

Smith, with the Nevada State Rifle and Pistol Association, said people own these weapons because "they are fun to shoot."

"It's like owning a fast car," he said.

About 3,255 machine guns were registered in Nevada in 1999, and 3,428 in 2000, according to the most recent ATF report available.

Reno Police Chief Steve Pitts said he doesn't know enough about the federal assault weapons ban to take a position, but he said the International Association of Chiefs of Police published an article in 2007 on ways to reduce gun violence that called for such a ban.

Among the group's recommendations was "enacting an effective ban on military-style assault weapons, armor-piercing handgun ammunition, .50 caliber sniper rifles and other weapons that enable criminals to outgun law enforcement."

Magazine restrictions

While federal legislation to renew the ban on assault weapons has been unsuccessful, two members of Congress, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., introduced bills to ban high-capacity magazines following the January shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., that left six dead and 11 injured, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who was hosting a town-hall meeting at the time.

The 22-year-old shooter, Jared Loughner, used a 30-round magazine, and was only subdued when he stopped to reload. Like Sencion, Loughner also was diagnosed schizophrenic.

At a press conference after the shooting, Pima County, Ariz., Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said a woman who had been shot went up and grabbed Loughner's new magazine when he tried to reload, and took it away from him.

"If he had been limited to 10 rounds, lives could have been saved," said Daniel Vice, a lawyer with the Brady Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence.

Sencion also used a 30-round magazine during the IHOP shooting, and the same-size magazine was also used in the mass killings at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech and in Fort Hood, Texas.

Six states have enacted laws banning the high-capacity magazines: California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

In response to the Tucson shooting, an Arizona lawmaker introduced a bill that proposed to ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, but the measure did not pass out of committees before the end of the legislative session.

Sheriff Furlong said such a ban should be considered in Nevada.

"If you're truly a sport shooter, a 30-round magazine is not relevant," he said. "Typically, a 10-round magazine is sufficient. The only purpose is to put a lot of bullets out there."

Nevada Senate Minority Leader Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, said banning these magazines won't stop someone who is determined to kill.

"If they have malice in mind, they're going to do it whether they have to change magazines four times or two," he said.

But Sheriff Haley said a ban would be appropriate but difficult to pass given the strength of the gun lobby, especially the NRA.

"Unfortunately, senators and congressmen have to die or get shot, and other catastrophic events have to happen before the public and the Legislature rise up and say 'enough,'" he said. "Maybe we need to look at our limits. I'm an advocate for limits."

Carolyn Herbertson, a Sacramento-based NRA lobbyist who also is registered to lobby at the Nevada Legislature, said the group has three paid lobbyists in Nevada, and the Nevada Firearms Coalition and Stillwater Firearms Association also represent gun owners in Carson City.

"But the largest 'gun lobby' is actually tens of thousands of Nevada gun owners who want to express their opinions," she said. "These are gun owners who want to voice their concerns."

Trying to make policy based on emotion -- such as the response to the IHOP shooting -- isn't good policy, she said.

"My job is to represent reason and I take that very seriously," she said. "We represent reason to what often becomes an emotional issue."

STATES WITH THE HIGHEST GUN DEATH RATES

Gun death rate per 100,000

1. Louisiana: 19.87. Household gun ownership: 45.6 percent

2. Mississippi: 18.32. Household gun ownership: 54.3 percent

3. Alaska: 17.62. Household gun ownership: 60.6 percent

4. Alabama: 17.55. Household gun ownership: 57.2 percent

5. Nevada: 16.21. Household gun ownership: 31.5 percent

Source: Violence Policy Center, 2007 (most recent available)

Firearms glossary

Semi-automatic assault weapon: These are military-style weapons with specific combat features, including a detachable magazine, a telescoping or folding stock, flash suppressor and grenade launcher, a pistol grip and a bayonet lug. These include AK-47s, M-16s, Uzis and AR-15s.

Automatic assault weapon: An automatic assault weapon is the same as a machine gun. It allows the shooter to hold the trigger and continually fire until the ammunition runs out.

High-capacity magazine: These are ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. They allow the shooter to fire more than 30 bullets, " depending on the size, up to 100 bullets, without reloading.

Destructive device: A missile that has an explosive charge of more than 0.25 ounces, and any type of weapon that can be converted to expel a projectile that can bore a hole larger than 1 inch in diameter. This includes Molotov cocktails, antitank guns and bazookas.

Source: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives