History of Preemption in Clark County
This page discusses Clark County’s now former handgun registration system and firearm regulation ordinances, which have been preempted. All local firearm regulation ordinances in Clark County, including the ‘blue card’ handgun registration scheme are null and void. The 'blue card' system is dead and county/city/town laws and local regulations (park, library, etc.) can't be enforced.
Until SB 175 and SB 240 were signed into law 6/02/2015, only Clark County had handgun registration and was disproportionately affected by local firearm regulation, thanks to an exemption in state preemption laws. Various county/city ordinances and regulations, such as possession of guns in county parks, were illegally enforced. That exemption and grandfathering of certain local laws has been removed.
Until SB 175 and SB 240 were signed into law 6/02/2015, only Clark County had handgun registration and was disproportionately affected by local firearm regulation, thanks to an exemption in state preemption laws. Various county/city ordinances and regulations, such as possession of guns in county parks, were illegally enforced. That exemption and grandfathering of certain local laws has been removed.
The state of Nevada did not have firearms registration. Clark County, however, did. NRS 244.364 and NRS 268.418 granted limited authority in Clark County to cause registration of handguns. They specifically grandfathered Clark County's handgun registration ordinances even while the state preempted all other local regulations.
Firearms capable of being concealed (i.e. handguns) were required to be registered within 60 days of residency (moving into Clark County) or within 72 hours of purchase, gift, or transfer. Dealers were required to register handguns that they sold and private sales/transfers had to be completed at a police station for registration. A blue card was given as a receipt of registration. A blue card was never required to be carried or kept, in fact, many gun owners destroyed them.
The preemption law was passed in 1989 so that all of Nevada would have uniform gun laws. Clark County used its influence to preserve their handgun registration ordinance, which was created in 1948 when mobsters started coming to Las Vegas because of the booming gaming industry. The preemption law was amended in 2007 to fix a loophole that technically made visitors to Las Vegas and Clark County's new Shooting Complex (and other travelers) in violation of the law. This technicality was a perfect example of why patchwork laws needed to be eliminated. It was amended again to make non-substantive changes in 2011.
By 2015, the vast majority of county law enforcement agencies and officers stopped enforcing all local firearm regulations, save for handgun registration. Sadly, the Clark County Park Police maintained that the park rule against guns in county parks (concealed firearm permit or not) was legal and continued to arrest those legally carrying firearms. The county was so adamant about enforcing their clearly preempted law, they managed to get the Democrat Attorney General to write an opinion justifying Clark County's behavior and continual violation of civil rights, even though Attorney General Cortez-Masto had to use some pretty abstruse logic to support her preposterous reasoning. Click here for this blog post to learn more about the enforcement of the 'no-guns-in-parks' rules and more about the changes to the preemptions laws.
Firearms capable of being concealed (i.e. handguns) were required to be registered within 60 days of residency (moving into Clark County) or within 72 hours of purchase, gift, or transfer. Dealers were required to register handguns that they sold and private sales/transfers had to be completed at a police station for registration. A blue card was given as a receipt of registration. A blue card was never required to be carried or kept, in fact, many gun owners destroyed them.
The preemption law was passed in 1989 so that all of Nevada would have uniform gun laws. Clark County used its influence to preserve their handgun registration ordinance, which was created in 1948 when mobsters started coming to Las Vegas because of the booming gaming industry. The preemption law was amended in 2007 to fix a loophole that technically made visitors to Las Vegas and Clark County's new Shooting Complex (and other travelers) in violation of the law. This technicality was a perfect example of why patchwork laws needed to be eliminated. It was amended again to make non-substantive changes in 2011.
By 2015, the vast majority of county law enforcement agencies and officers stopped enforcing all local firearm regulations, save for handgun registration. Sadly, the Clark County Park Police maintained that the park rule against guns in county parks (concealed firearm permit or not) was legal and continued to arrest those legally carrying firearms. The county was so adamant about enforcing their clearly preempted law, they managed to get the Democrat Attorney General to write an opinion justifying Clark County's behavior and continual violation of civil rights, even though Attorney General Cortez-Masto had to use some pretty abstruse logic to support her preposterous reasoning. Click here for this blog post to learn more about the enforcement of the 'no-guns-in-parks' rules and more about the changes to the preemptions laws.
Criticism of Handgun Registration
The registration law did not deter a criminal from breaking the law, it only empowered the police if a criminal were to be caught with an unregistered gun. The law was clearly sparsely enforced as the data below shows.
Bookings for an Unregistered Handgun (LVMPD)
2010 107
2011 87
2012 62
2013 43
2014 41
2015 12
2015 stats are YTD to late April/early May.
2010 107
2011 87
2012 62
2013 43
2014 41
2015 12
2015 stats are YTD to late April/early May.
An estimated 1,379,250 handguns were registered in Clark County. Other than that figure, few details about the program are known. In 2010, it was reported that "According to Metro Sergeant Chuck Callaway, a quality assurance audit has not been performed on the registration program in years nor was an audit planned for the near future, although "the audit [was] on the “to-do” list of the county auditor." (Source) Though this was approximately five years ago (from this writing), it is unknown if the audit was ever performed.
Why did only Clark County have this law? What was its purpose?
According to a 2012 article in the Las Vegas Review Journal, the genesis of the is program was apparently to target mobsters in early Las Vegas’ heyday.
Why did only Clark County have this law? What was its purpose?
According to a 2012 article in the Las Vegas Review Journal, the genesis of the is program was apparently to target mobsters in early Las Vegas’ heyday.
“Seven decades ago, Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky and their pals from New York decided that Clark County was ripe for expanding mob operations, and organized crime arrived in Las Vegas - complete with armed "soldiers" for protection and muscle. In response, the county adopted the ordinance requiring the registration of handguns. (The idea probably came from California, where some form of handgun registration has been required since at least the end of World War I.) It was assumed that the mobsters wouldn't comply so, with few legal restrictions on search and seizure back then, the new ordinance provided law enforcement with some serious leverage.”
"Of interest is that the original law was to keep guns out of the hands of the mob. Now the mob has 60 days to register [non-resident grace period], so completely invalidating the original intent of the ordinance." (Source)
The LVRJ goes on to explain an unsuccessful 2012 attempt to gather information on the program:
“A recent exchange of letters between Gillespie and County Commissioner Tom Collins provided some fascinating insight into Metro's Firearm Registration Unit - and perhaps into the general management practices of the department.
“The Firearm Registration Unit's database contains information on more than 1 million handguns. You'd think that management might find it useful to know how often this information is accessed, or how many arrests, citations or convictions have resulted from it. How many investigative leads are produced? How many handguns are seized each year for failure to register?
“If you thought that such information might be a significant management tool, you'd be wrong. To each such question, the sheriff told Collins the information wasn't tracked.
“Furthermore, because the Firearm Registration Unit isn't a budget line item, the sheriff said he couldn't provide any information on expenditures for either the unit itself or the related data processing."
So after 60 years of operation, the sheriff (Gillespie) seemed to know nothing about the program he so vigorously defended. Collins asked for "objective data" that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the handgun registration program had real law-enforcement benefit to Clark County. The sheriff's response: ‘Officers benefit from the use of the database every day. If it did not provide valuable investigative leads, it would not be accessed by the officers.’” That statement has never actually been verifiably supported by the LVMPD, and one cannot accept running handgun serial numbers of persons detained by officers to be considered 'investigative leads.'
Nevada Carry sought this information from the LVMPD and obtained less than satisfactory answers after a lengthy process. A program like this and of such scope demanded public accountability. Ultimately, Metro's conduct was so poor and non-responsive, a complaint was filed with the Attorney General's Public Integrity Unit. To date, the Attorney General's office has not responded, even though Metro finally did properly fulfill the request.
In his 2014 election campaign, Sheriff Lombardo supported eliminating the handgun registration program. His department did not testify against the bills which ultimately eliminated it.
Nevada Carry sought this information from the LVMPD and obtained less than satisfactory answers after a lengthy process. A program like this and of such scope demanded public accountability. Ultimately, Metro's conduct was so poor and non-responsive, a complaint was filed with the Attorney General's Public Integrity Unit. To date, the Attorney General's office has not responded, even though Metro finally did properly fulfill the request.
In his 2014 election campaign, Sheriff Lombardo supported eliminating the handgun registration program. His department did not testify against the bills which ultimately eliminated it.
Cons of the Handgun Registration Program
What benefit was this program if it contributed nothing towards safety, annoyed the public, and took money away from proactive policing? Wouldn't this money have been better spent putting more, better trained and equipped officers on the street?
- No way, without a sting or confession, to determine if a handgun was registered within the required amount of time.
- No public data showing gainful use of the database (i.e. recovery of stolen handguns, black-market gun sales, murder/crime weapons).
- Invasion of privacy and roadmap for gun confiscation.
- Inconvenient (travel, wait time, registration limit of two handguns per day)
- Unknown program administration costs borne by the taxpayer for little to no gain in public safety.
What is Preemption and Why is it Good?
Preemption takes away the authority of counties, cities, and towns to make their own gun laws, creating a confusing and hazardous—both legally and for personal safety—patchwork of laws. For instance, someone moving from Pahrump to Las Vegas might unknowingly break Clark County’s ordinance to register a handgun within 60 days of residency or within 72 hours of acquiring the gun. Along with various other laws or regulations, like Clark County Parks prohibition of guns in their parks and North Las Vegas’ law that prohibited guns in cars, a law-abiding Nevadan might have been caught up in a confusing web.
The preemption law was meant to regulate (circa 2014): “[...] transfer, sale, purchase, possession, ownership, transportation, registration and licensing of firearms and ammunition in Nevada, and no [county/city/town] may infringe upon those rights and powers," by the Legislature.
A plain-language reading of the preemption statutes would tell you that only the handgun registration program (as of 2014) was allowed. The exemption was specifically for allowing requiring registration within (in a county of 700,000 residents or more, Clark County):
(a) A period of at least 60 days of residency in the county before registration of such a firearm is required.
(b) A period of at least 72 hours for the registration of a pistol by a resident of the county upon transfer of title to the pistol to the resident by purchase, gift or any other transfer.
There was no mention of the three-day waiting period for first-time handgun purchases or allowing old laws to continue in force, contrary to what the police wanted to think. Unfortunately, it took this long to do away with the practically worthless handgun registration program and to finally force municipalities to strip illegal laws from their books. Without the explicit direction from the state, local governments just didn’t want to comply, even though the rest of Nevada did.
Thankfully, state law simplified all this back in 1989 when the original preemption laws were passed. The preemption law was passed so that all of Nevada would have uniform gun laws. Clark County used its influence to preserve their handgun registration ordinance, which was created in 1948 when mobsters started coming to Las Vegas because of the booming gaming industry. The preemption law was amended in 2007 to fix a loophole that technically made visitors to Las Vegas and Clark County's new Shooting Complex (and other travelers) in violation of the law. It was amended again to make non-substantive changes in 2011.
Rumors were the worst effect of Clark County’s laws. People repeated laws that weren’t enforced for years, yet things were so confusing, someone who didn’t take the time to understand the subject didn’t know what to think. To make it worse, cops enforced some laws anyway. Now everything is the same in Nevada, except when/where you can shoot.
The preemption law was meant to regulate (circa 2014): “[...] transfer, sale, purchase, possession, ownership, transportation, registration and licensing of firearms and ammunition in Nevada, and no [county/city/town] may infringe upon those rights and powers," by the Legislature.
A plain-language reading of the preemption statutes would tell you that only the handgun registration program (as of 2014) was allowed. The exemption was specifically for allowing requiring registration within (in a county of 700,000 residents or more, Clark County):
(a) A period of at least 60 days of residency in the county before registration of such a firearm is required.
(b) A period of at least 72 hours for the registration of a pistol by a resident of the county upon transfer of title to the pistol to the resident by purchase, gift or any other transfer.
There was no mention of the three-day waiting period for first-time handgun purchases or allowing old laws to continue in force, contrary to what the police wanted to think. Unfortunately, it took this long to do away with the practically worthless handgun registration program and to finally force municipalities to strip illegal laws from their books. Without the explicit direction from the state, local governments just didn’t want to comply, even though the rest of Nevada did.
Thankfully, state law simplified all this back in 1989 when the original preemption laws were passed. The preemption law was passed so that all of Nevada would have uniform gun laws. Clark County used its influence to preserve their handgun registration ordinance, which was created in 1948 when mobsters started coming to Las Vegas because of the booming gaming industry. The preemption law was amended in 2007 to fix a loophole that technically made visitors to Las Vegas and Clark County's new Shooting Complex (and other travelers) in violation of the law. It was amended again to make non-substantive changes in 2011.
Rumors were the worst effect of Clark County’s laws. People repeated laws that weren’t enforced for years, yet things were so confusing, someone who didn’t take the time to understand the subject didn’t know what to think. To make it worse, cops enforced some laws anyway. Now everything is the same in Nevada, except when/where you can shoot.
History of the Clark County Exemption
The exact way Clark County managed to get an exemption that preserved its handgun registration scheme, and at the time, most of its local carry laws, is shrouded in the research darkness of pre-internet days. An archived document of legislative evidence from the original 1989 preemption laws provides the best insight into those times, but phone calls and backroom conversations weren’t recorded to tell the whole tale.
In 1989, Undersheriff Cooper said that "Las Vegas was becoming a major city with major city problems, therefore, Las Vegas could not be compared to the remainder of the state." Sheriff Moran said: "[...] I think Las Vegas is a very unique city and requires gun regulations that would be impractical in rural areas. [...] Las Vegas is unlike any other city in the world. [...] but there comes a time when even I have to interpret the Constitution as I see fit [...]." Moran’s statement shows the shocking arrogance of law enforcement in Clark County and why LV Metro PD in particular was so dead-set against preemption laws (until Sheriff Lombardo saw the writing on the wall) and for strictly restricting citizens' Second Amendment rights.
Men like Moran and Cooper believed that Las Vegans deserved less rights than all other Nevadans, based on their opposition to preemption. While the original text of the 1989 law would have ended all local regulations in any form, just as 2015 change finally did (only 26 years late), an amendment was proposed by Chairman Danny L. Thompson, coming on the heels of a hard letter from Sheriff Moran. By hammering on the fact that Las Vegas was a "major city and faced major city problems," they used their influence to allow Clark County to keep its existing gun-control laws, primarily handgun registration and the waiting period.
The three-day wait adopted in 1965 was touted as a "cooling off" period. Unfortunately, evidence shows that cooling off periods don't work as intended.
A man engaged in a sledgehammer attack in Henderson who, as felon, would fail a background check. Instead, he forced his girlfriend to try and buy one for him. The anti-gun press erroneously attributed it to a success of the waiting period. He still went on a rampage, just not with a gun, which to them, makes some sort of difference. Nevermind the fact that his girlfriend illegally bought a gun for him (a ‘straw purchase’). They weren’t able to pick it up because of the three-day waiting period.
The assertion that the three-day waiting period worked is a fluke, due more to an incompetent criminal (thank God for the stupid ones) than a success of law. The three-day waiting period apply only to handguns, not rifles or shotguns, so if he wanted an AR-15 rifle, he could have gotten one. If they had went shopping in Henderson, Boulder City, Mesquite, or in Pahrump, or heaven forefend, bought privately, the suspect would have gotten his pistol. So it’s luck that he didn’t have a gun.
The ‘cooling off’ period had no effect. All it meant is that his crimes were not committed with a gun, but a sledgehammer; still a deadly weapon. The anti-gun also conveniently ignore that the felon did what most felons who want a gun do in having someone else buy the gun. So if this guy wanted to wait the three days, he could have gone on a gun-armed rampage anyway. Waiting periods only affect the law-abiding and don’t dissuade the crazy, suicidal, or psychopathic. Luck was the hero in that case.
In 1989, Undersheriff Cooper said that "Las Vegas was becoming a major city with major city problems, therefore, Las Vegas could not be compared to the remainder of the state." Sheriff Moran said: "[...] I think Las Vegas is a very unique city and requires gun regulations that would be impractical in rural areas. [...] Las Vegas is unlike any other city in the world. [...] but there comes a time when even I have to interpret the Constitution as I see fit [...]." Moran’s statement shows the shocking arrogance of law enforcement in Clark County and why LV Metro PD in particular was so dead-set against preemption laws (until Sheriff Lombardo saw the writing on the wall) and for strictly restricting citizens' Second Amendment rights.
Men like Moran and Cooper believed that Las Vegans deserved less rights than all other Nevadans, based on their opposition to preemption. While the original text of the 1989 law would have ended all local regulations in any form, just as 2015 change finally did (only 26 years late), an amendment was proposed by Chairman Danny L. Thompson, coming on the heels of a hard letter from Sheriff Moran. By hammering on the fact that Las Vegas was a "major city and faced major city problems," they used their influence to allow Clark County to keep its existing gun-control laws, primarily handgun registration and the waiting period.
The three-day wait adopted in 1965 was touted as a "cooling off" period. Unfortunately, evidence shows that cooling off periods don't work as intended.
A man engaged in a sledgehammer attack in Henderson who, as felon, would fail a background check. Instead, he forced his girlfriend to try and buy one for him. The anti-gun press erroneously attributed it to a success of the waiting period. He still went on a rampage, just not with a gun, which to them, makes some sort of difference. Nevermind the fact that his girlfriend illegally bought a gun for him (a ‘straw purchase’). They weren’t able to pick it up because of the three-day waiting period.
The assertion that the three-day waiting period worked is a fluke, due more to an incompetent criminal (thank God for the stupid ones) than a success of law. The three-day waiting period apply only to handguns, not rifles or shotguns, so if he wanted an AR-15 rifle, he could have gotten one. If they had went shopping in Henderson, Boulder City, Mesquite, or in Pahrump, or heaven forefend, bought privately, the suspect would have gotten his pistol. So it’s luck that he didn’t have a gun.
The ‘cooling off’ period had no effect. All it meant is that his crimes were not committed with a gun, but a sledgehammer; still a deadly weapon. The anti-gun also conveniently ignore that the felon did what most felons who want a gun do in having someone else buy the gun. So if this guy wanted to wait the three days, he could have gone on a gun-armed rampage anyway. Waiting periods only affect the law-abiding and don’t dissuade the crazy, suicidal, or psychopathic. Luck was the hero in that case.
History of Preemption and Changes 1989-2011
Taken from written testimony submitted to the Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committees for AB 921 (2019) hearings.
State preemption of firearm laws are nothing new. They are a reaction to the city of Morton Grove, Illinois, banning of all handguns by ordinance in 1981. In the 1980s, state began adopting firearm preemption laws to place control of firearm regulation with the legislature. Nevada was one such adopter. Any claim or inference that preemption dates from 2015 is a lie; in 2015, Nevada cleaned up may left-over bad gun laws that originally should have ben invalidated in 1989.
Nevada’s preemption laws began in 1989 with Assemblyman Thompson’s AB 147, dubbed by some as the “Firearms Owners’ Bill of Rights.” Thompson had asked for a Bill Draft Request in 1987 at the behest of a constituent. The constituent told him:
State preemption of firearm laws are nothing new. They are a reaction to the city of Morton Grove, Illinois, banning of all handguns by ordinance in 1981. In the 1980s, state began adopting firearm preemption laws to place control of firearm regulation with the legislature. Nevada was one such adopter. Any claim or inference that preemption dates from 2015 is a lie; in 2015, Nevada cleaned up may left-over bad gun laws that originally should have ben invalidated in 1989.
Nevada’s preemption laws began in 1989 with Assemblyman Thompson’s AB 147, dubbed by some as the “Firearms Owners’ Bill of Rights.” Thompson had asked for a Bill Draft Request in 1987 at the behest of a constituent. The constituent told him:
Look what’s going on here. Clark County has one set of rules about buying and registering guns, Henderson has another one. Eventually there are going to be 100 different laws in the state, every city and every county is going to have their own law, with their own little quirks […] and whether or not they are in violation of one or another law every time they cross a county or city border.
State preemption originated primarily because of variations in Clark County handgun registration ordinances, which it sought to do away with entirely. A second reason was to promote uniform firearm regulation across the state. Much concern was expressed that local authorities were able to have a variety of local ordinances that visitors and travelers were unaware of. In the time before virtually everyone used World Wide Web, only through meticulous research at the library or city hall/county seat could someone be aware of local laws.
At this time, Reno prohibited loaded open carry, North Las Vegas had two ordinances against being armed in public, and it was illegal in Hawthorne to carry a weapon. Concealed firearm permits were “may issue” and not routinely issued until 1995 when Nevada became “shall issue.”
Mr. Bruce, who testified at the first hearing for AB 147, said that the argument in favor of local regulation of firearms was an emotional one.
In 1989, Undersheriff Cooper said that “Las Vegas was becoming a major city with major city problems, therefore, Las Vegas could not be compared to the remainder of the state." Sheriff Moran said: "[...] I think Las Vegas is a very unique city and requires gun regulations that would be impractical in rural areas. [...] Las Vegas is unlike any other city in the world. [...] but there comes a time when even I have to interpret the Constitution as I see fit [...] [emphasis added]."
Oddly, despite this official pronouncement, made at the outset of the urban vs. rural struggle over gun rights, that Clark County regulations should not apply to the whole state regarding handgun sales—this is exactly what Nevada did 30 years later with 2019’s SB 143.
In 1989, despite the major aim of the bill being made to dismiss Clark County’s “blue card” handgun registration scheme, intense pressure from LVMPD saw an amendment that allowed the law to stay in. This was done by grandfathering laws in existence prior to June 13, 1989. The sole intent of this grandfather clause, as was clearly expressed by legislators, was that it would apply only to the “blue card” restrictions. Despite the legislative intent, a host of other outdated local regulations stayed on the books until repealed either one by one or invalidated in 2015 by SB 175 and SB 240.
The preemption laws were amended in 2007 to fix a loophole that technically made visitors to Las Vegas and Clark County's new Shooting Complex (and other travelers) in violation of the law. A side note is that if Clark County Parks (the complex’s operator) stuck with the original name of the “Shooting Park,” under county code, it would be illegal to possess a firearm in the shooting park! In order to keep the grandfathered park regulation banning firearms in county parks, the county commission could not pass an ordinance exempting firearms in the shooting park. Thus the “Shooting Park” became a shooting complex.
In 2007, under the new language where the only grandfathered regulations are ones “adopted before June 13, 1989, [pertaining to] the registration of a firearm capable of being concealed.” Plainly stated the legislature was invalidating all ordinances not involving handgun registration (and unsafe discharge). Ordinances dealing with all but handgun registration were null and void, regardless of when adopted.
By 2015, the vast majority of county law enforcement agencies and officers stopped enforcing all local firearm regulations, save for handgun registration. The Clark County Park Police maintained that the park rule against guns in county parks (concealed firearm permit or not) was legal and continued to harass those legally carrying firearms. The county was so adamant about enforcing the ordinance, they managed to get the Democrat Attorney General to write an opinion justifying Clark County's behavior and continual violation of civil rights, even though Attorney General Cortez-Masto had to use some pretty abstruse logic to support her preposterous reasoning.
Cortez-Masto concluded that because the original regulation (19.04.060 CCMC) was adopted before the 1989 preemption bill, the original (since altered) language of the 1989 bill allowed them to continue to enforce this law because the 2007 revision to the preemption statute didn’t explicitly say that municipal regulations to the contrary were henceforth illegal. This was a deliberate deferral to the original bill that was superseded in 2007.
In 2015, SB 175 and SB 240 were passed to remove Clark County handgun registration and unequivocally remove invalidated and supposedly grandfathered ordinances off the book. Except for a few examples, such conflicting ordinances have been repealed as required by statute. None of these changes have made Nevada less safe.
At this time, Reno prohibited loaded open carry, North Las Vegas had two ordinances against being armed in public, and it was illegal in Hawthorne to carry a weapon. Concealed firearm permits were “may issue” and not routinely issued until 1995 when Nevada became “shall issue.”
Mr. Bruce, who testified at the first hearing for AB 147, said that the argument in favor of local regulation of firearms was an emotional one.
In 1989, Undersheriff Cooper said that “Las Vegas was becoming a major city with major city problems, therefore, Las Vegas could not be compared to the remainder of the state." Sheriff Moran said: "[...] I think Las Vegas is a very unique city and requires gun regulations that would be impractical in rural areas. [...] Las Vegas is unlike any other city in the world. [...] but there comes a time when even I have to interpret the Constitution as I see fit [...] [emphasis added]."
Oddly, despite this official pronouncement, made at the outset of the urban vs. rural struggle over gun rights, that Clark County regulations should not apply to the whole state regarding handgun sales—this is exactly what Nevada did 30 years later with 2019’s SB 143.
In 1989, despite the major aim of the bill being made to dismiss Clark County’s “blue card” handgun registration scheme, intense pressure from LVMPD saw an amendment that allowed the law to stay in. This was done by grandfathering laws in existence prior to June 13, 1989. The sole intent of this grandfather clause, as was clearly expressed by legislators, was that it would apply only to the “blue card” restrictions. Despite the legislative intent, a host of other outdated local regulations stayed on the books until repealed either one by one or invalidated in 2015 by SB 175 and SB 240.
The preemption laws were amended in 2007 to fix a loophole that technically made visitors to Las Vegas and Clark County's new Shooting Complex (and other travelers) in violation of the law. A side note is that if Clark County Parks (the complex’s operator) stuck with the original name of the “Shooting Park,” under county code, it would be illegal to possess a firearm in the shooting park! In order to keep the grandfathered park regulation banning firearms in county parks, the county commission could not pass an ordinance exempting firearms in the shooting park. Thus the “Shooting Park” became a shooting complex.
In 2007, under the new language where the only grandfathered regulations are ones “adopted before June 13, 1989, [pertaining to] the registration of a firearm capable of being concealed.” Plainly stated the legislature was invalidating all ordinances not involving handgun registration (and unsafe discharge). Ordinances dealing with all but handgun registration were null and void, regardless of when adopted.
By 2015, the vast majority of county law enforcement agencies and officers stopped enforcing all local firearm regulations, save for handgun registration. The Clark County Park Police maintained that the park rule against guns in county parks (concealed firearm permit or not) was legal and continued to harass those legally carrying firearms. The county was so adamant about enforcing the ordinance, they managed to get the Democrat Attorney General to write an opinion justifying Clark County's behavior and continual violation of civil rights, even though Attorney General Cortez-Masto had to use some pretty abstruse logic to support her preposterous reasoning.
Cortez-Masto concluded that because the original regulation (19.04.060 CCMC) was adopted before the 1989 preemption bill, the original (since altered) language of the 1989 bill allowed them to continue to enforce this law because the 2007 revision to the preemption statute didn’t explicitly say that municipal regulations to the contrary were henceforth illegal. This was a deliberate deferral to the original bill that was superseded in 2007.
In 2015, SB 175 and SB 240 were passed to remove Clark County handgun registration and unequivocally remove invalidated and supposedly grandfathered ordinances off the book. Except for a few examples, such conflicting ordinances have been repealed as required by statute. None of these changes have made Nevada less safe.
ab_147_1989_original_preemption_bill_history_from_nelis.pdf |