LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Buyers must be 21 or older to purchase some semiautomatic weapons in Nevada under limits contained in Assembly Bill 355 (AB355).
Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D-Clark County) introduced the bill on Monday, raising the legal age from 18 to 21.
“Gun violence is a seemingly inescapable epidemic in America, and I know the horrors from experiencing it firsthand — during 1 October, every bullet that didn’t hit us, hit someone else,” Jauregui said in a statement sent out Monday by the Nevada Assembly Democratic Caucus.
1 October is the name often used for the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting on the Strip that killed 58 people at the Route 91 Harvest festival as gunman Stephen Paddock fired shots from his Mandalay Bay hotel room. Two additional deaths have been assigned to the shooting since then.
AB355 makes it a gross misdemeanor for anyone under 21 to possess or control a semiautomatic shotgun or rifle. The bill also updates existing laws and penalties against aiding or knowingly permitting a person to possess a semiautomatic weapon, raising the age to 21. Hunting laws are also updated to eliminate possession of a semiautomatic weapon for children 14 and older, allowing only weapons that are not fully automatic or semiautomatic.
AB355 also requires that the rifle or shotgun must be unloaded and stored in a securely locked container when not in use.
“Right now, guns are the No. 1 killer of our children. I believe that we can protect second graders and the second amendment at the same time,” Jauregui said. “This legislation is a common sense gun safety measure that will make everyday Nevadans safer and more secure in their community.”
Several states have already passed legislation raising the age requirement to purchase an assault weapon to 21, according to the news release. Like many other states, Nevada’s current law already requires that purchasers of handguns be at least 21 years old.
Jauregui helped pass AB291, which banned bump stocks — the type of accessory used for 1 October.
