New York Governor Kathy Hochul called out Nevada’s “weak gun laws” after a Nevada man was identified as the suspect in a mass shooting in Manhattan in late July, but the state does have a number of so-called "red flag" laws that allows law enforcement to remove guns from people who are at risk of harming themselves or others. Here’s how Nevada’s red flag laws work and how the state is pushing for better education.
Nevada’s Gun Laws
Prior to 2020, the Nevada Department of Public Safety processed background checks for gun sales through authorized dealers in the state to verify that the buyer was not prohibited from owning a firearm — Nevada residents can be prohibited from possessing a firearm for a number of reasons, including a felony conviction, a history of mental health issues, or use of a controlled substance. Background checks were not required for private sellers or private transfers until recently.
State legislators passed AB291 in 2019, expanding background checks to some private sales and transfers, with exceptions for law enforcement officers and immediate family members, among others. It was sponsored by Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, who is a survivor of the Route 91 mass shooting in 2017 and has become an advocate for gun safety. The law went into effect in 2020.
Here's the Red Flag Part
AB291 also created an avenue to temporarily revoke an individual’s right to possess any firearm if they pose a risk to themselves or others. A High Risk Protection Order can be filed online by anyone — including law enforcement — with knowledge of an individual who owns a gun and displays any of the following behavior:
- Use of physical force
- An act or communication of imminent violence towards themselves or others
- Unsafe use or possession of a firearm
- Violation of a protection order for domestic violence or sexual assault
Once a protection order is filed, a judge will hold a hearing within one day to determine if an individual in possession of a gun is indeed a danger. The court can then revoke the individual’s firearms for a short term of up to seven days, or an extended period of up to a year, even if the gun was purchased legally.
Despite the new law, filings for High Risk Protection Orders in Nevada have rarely been used — the state received as many as 28 filings in 2024, only a fraction of the 5,370 filed in New York the same year. Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui thinks one of the reasons Nevada is seeing so few high-risk protection orders is simply because residents and law enforcement officers don’t know that is an option.
When we talked to Assemblymember Jauregui earlier this month, she told us that there have been positive results after trainings with law enforcement and wants to expand those education efforts to the general public.
