Democrats in Carson City, Nevada gave their final approval to a bill prohibiting adults under the age of 21 from purchasing or possessing semi-automatic shotguns and rifles last week. Now the question is whether the state’s Republican governor will veto the measure or allow it to become law.
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If Gov. Joe Lombardo sticks to his guns (pun definitely intended), then Nevada’s young adults should be free and clear to exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear semi-automatic firearms. Back in 2023, Lombardo vetoed an identical measure, saying at the time that the bill infringed on the rights of Nevadans.
Lombardo’s action marks the first veto of the session and arrives after he pledged on his campaign website to “veto any legislation” that would take away the “right to build a firearm for personal use.” At that time, Lombardo also said he “supports the right of all law-abiding citizens to own a firearm if they so choose.” Republican lawmakers — who voted en masse against the three proposals — have been unwilling to support such policies.
“I will not support legislation that infringes on the constitutional rights of Nevadans,” Lombardo said in a press release Wednesday. “As I stated in my letters, much of the legislation I vetoed today is in direct conflict with legal precedent and established constitutional protections. Therefore, I cannot support them.”
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There haven’t been any signs that Lombardo has changed his tune over the past couple of years, but gun owners in the Silver State should still reach out to his office and urge him to once again reject this measure, which tramples the Second Amendment rights of young adults. Possessing a rifle in common use like the AR-15 shouldn’t be a crime at all, much less one punishable by up to 364 days in prison, which is the penalty attached to AB 245.
How many men have died in defense of this nation before they reached the age of 21? In Vietnam alone 61% of the 58,148 men killed in action were younger than 21, and while statistics for other wars are harder to come by we know that cohort of young adults has historically comprised a large portion of the soldiers serving on the front lines, from Gettysburg to Baghdad.
If we consider these individuals old enough to carry a gun to defend this nation, then it’s morally repugnant and intellectually bankrupt to declare they’re not old enough to carry a gun to protect themselves or others. The age of majority might have been widely recognized to be 21 back in 1791 or 1868, but for pretty much the entirety of my lifetime adulthood has started at 18 years of age.
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Lombardo was right to reject the under-21 gun ban two years ago, and he should do so again this year. If Nevada Democrats want to address violent crime, they should pay attention to violent criminals. If they want to ensure young adults are responsible with firearms, they should work to improve range access and help foster a culture of responsible gun ownership. If, on the other hand, they want to destroy a fundamental civil right then I guess they’re on the right track… and now it’s up to Nevada’s governor to keep that right intact.
