Drizzt
Member
The Associated Press State & Local Wire
April 30, 2003, Wednesday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 373 words
HEADLINE: Bills would tighten Nevada's gun laws
BYLINE: By BEN KIECKHEFER, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: CARSON CITY, Nev.
BODY:
An Assembly Judiciary member raised questions Wednesday about a bill to strengthen Nevada laws dealing with private gun sales.
SB199, bringing Nevada into compliance with federal laws, makes it illegal for someone to knowingly sell a gun to a person who is a convicted felon, takes illegal drugs or has been judged mentally ill by a court.
Anyone convicted of violating the law could be imprisoned for up to 20 years.
Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, questioned whether it's appropriate to hold individuals to a higher standard of background checks than retailers.
Horne also asked whether he'd be restricted from selling a gun to a neighbor who told him he occasionally smokes marijuana when he goes to parties.
"I shouldn't be the one setting the standard on the ownership of this firearm," Horne said.
Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said another provision eliminates illegal use and ownership of machine guns, while protecting federally licensed owners. He said tourists come to shooting ranges to fire machine guns, and pay hefty sums to do so.
The bill specifically bans the ownership of machine guns and silencers except by people who are federally licensed.
SB199 also makes it illegal to remove or destroy a serial number printed on a gun. It's currently only illegal to own one with the serial number destroyed.
Hettrick also proposed amending the bill to incorporate a now-dead measure he sponsored to allow manufacture of switchblade knifes in Nevada. His amendment more clearly defines switchblades, and says manufacturers could only sell the knives to police and the military.
Judiciary members also were asked by Gayle Farley of Carson City to approve a bill making it a crime to maliciously or wantonly fire a weapon inside a house or other structure.
Farley said SB40 could have saved the life of her daughter, Kellie Parry, had it been on the books a few years ago.
Parry was killed in 1999 by her ex-boyfriend, Brandon Allan, at his Sun Valley home. Earlier, he had fired a gun into the floor to scare someone, but because that crime was only a misdemeanor he wasn't sentenced to prison.
Allan currently is serving a life prison term for the murder.
April 30, 2003, Wednesday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 373 words
HEADLINE: Bills would tighten Nevada's gun laws
BYLINE: By BEN KIECKHEFER, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: CARSON CITY, Nev.
BODY:
An Assembly Judiciary member raised questions Wednesday about a bill to strengthen Nevada laws dealing with private gun sales.
SB199, bringing Nevada into compliance with federal laws, makes it illegal for someone to knowingly sell a gun to a person who is a convicted felon, takes illegal drugs or has been judged mentally ill by a court.
Anyone convicted of violating the law could be imprisoned for up to 20 years.
Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, questioned whether it's appropriate to hold individuals to a higher standard of background checks than retailers.
Horne also asked whether he'd be restricted from selling a gun to a neighbor who told him he occasionally smokes marijuana when he goes to parties.
"I shouldn't be the one setting the standard on the ownership of this firearm," Horne said.
Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said another provision eliminates illegal use and ownership of machine guns, while protecting federally licensed owners. He said tourists come to shooting ranges to fire machine guns, and pay hefty sums to do so.
The bill specifically bans the ownership of machine guns and silencers except by people who are federally licensed.
SB199 also makes it illegal to remove or destroy a serial number printed on a gun. It's currently only illegal to own one with the serial number destroyed.
Hettrick also proposed amending the bill to incorporate a now-dead measure he sponsored to allow manufacture of switchblade knifes in Nevada. His amendment more clearly defines switchblades, and says manufacturers could only sell the knives to police and the military.
Judiciary members also were asked by Gayle Farley of Carson City to approve a bill making it a crime to maliciously or wantonly fire a weapon inside a house or other structure.
Farley said SB40 could have saved the life of her daughter, Kellie Parry, had it been on the books a few years ago.
Parry was killed in 1999 by her ex-boyfriend, Brandon Allan, at his Sun Valley home. Earlier, he had fired a gun into the floor to scare someone, but because that crime was only a misdemeanor he wasn't sentenced to prison.
Allan currently is serving a life prison term for the murder.
