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CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Republicans voted to approve several gun-focused bills on Wednesday despite Democratic worries about unintended consequences.
Assembly members voted on primarily party lines to approve the bills, which include a proposal to bar schools from punishing students who play with toy firearms.
Republican Assemblyman Jim Wheeler is sponsoring AB121, which would forbid schools from punishing students who play with toy guns or pretend to use a firearm in a non-disruptive manner. The bill passed on a 24-17 vote, with Democrats opposing.
Wheeler is also sponsoring AB139, which the Assembly approved on a 24-17 vote. The measure allows out-of-state concealed weapon permits to be recognized in Nevada.
Current law requires a state agency to analyze concealed-permit programs in other states and only accept state permits with equal or more stringent requirements than Nevada law.
Democratic Minority Floor Leader Marilyn Kirkpatrick said she was concerned that the bill would allow people in states with less stringent requirements for concealed weapon permits to enter Nevada.
"I am a CCW carrier, and I value the training that I got," she said. "This is not the same of what we do in our state."
Republican Assemblywoman Michele Fiore said the state has never had an issue with out-of-state concealed weapon permit holders committing crimes.
Assembly members also voted to approve AB100, which requires the attorney general to take legal action if he or she determines a presidential executive order is infringing on 2nd Amendment rights. Several Republicans supporting the bill referenced former Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto's decision to not join the state to a 2010 lawsuit challenging the federal Affordable Care Act.
"When the attorney general feels free to ignore a request from the governor to defend Nevadan's rights, something it wrong," Republican Assemblyman Erv Nelson said.
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