What Are Las Vegas' Gun Control Laws?

Initial reports following Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas show that it is already the deadliest in modern history. The shooting during a Jason Aldean show left at least 50 people dead and at least 400 injured. While many of the details surrounding the shooting still remained unclear, Nevada has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country.

No state permit is required to purchase a rifle, shotgun or handgun in Nevada, nor is a permit required to possess any of the above firearms, according to the National Rifle Association. While it is against the law to carry a concealed firearm without a permit, Nevada allows for the open carrying of a firearm without a permit.

The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence graded Nevada a “C-“ for its gun legislation. Nevada does not regulate unsafe handguns, impose a waiting period on firearm purchases, or prohibit the transfer or possession of assault weapons, large capacity ammunition magazines, or 50 caliber rifles. It also does not limit the number of firearms that may be purchased at one time. Furthermore, the state allows a person to “possess, purchase or sell a machine gun or silencer that is legally registered and possessed in compliance with all federal laws and regulations.”

It appeared that 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, the suspect in the shooting, had at least 10 guns inside his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

“We located numerous firearms within the room that he occupied,” Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said at a news conference. “All’s we know is that they were rifles.”

The phrase #guncontrol quickly began trending on Twitter Monday morning following the shooting. People used the platform to rail against relaxed gun laws and implore the president to implement more stringent laws, while others lashed out at the politicization of the shooting. President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences after the shooting Monday, but it appeared unlikely that any concrete gun legislation would be implemented. Trump himself has long heralded gun rights and ran a campaign that railed against the “eight-year assault” on gun rights by former President Barack Obama.

“You have a true friend and champion in the White House,” he told the National Rifle Association during an April speech. “No longer will federal agencies be coming after law-abiding gun owners. No longer will the government be trying to undermine your rights and your freedoms as Americans. Instead, we will work with you, by your side.”