HerrGlock
06-18-2008, 02:53
http://www.elkodaily.com/articles/2008/06/18/news/local_news//local2.txt
Are you hiding something?: New federal regulations make background checks mandatory for all firearm purchases
By ALI HELGOTH - Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:41 AM PDT
Thanks to new federal regulations, those who possess Nevada Carry Concealed Weapon permits will no longer be exempt from background checks when they purchase firearms beginning July 1.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued the announcement on the heels of the failed Assembly Bill 21 in the 2007 Nevada Legislature session, which would have required residents who hold CCW permits to undergo the same requirements for a renewal as the initial application.
If that bill became law, CCW holders would not have to pass background checks when they purchase guns, as the law now stands.
The new regulations will only apply to those who hold CCWs and will not change the gun purchasing process for anyone else.
“Right now (CCWs are) good for five years and when you submit for a renewal you do not have to go through the background check process,” Elko County Sheriff Dale Lotspeich said.
When a party applies for an initial CCW permit, he or she undergoes an extensive background check process, Lotspeich said. When he or she submits a renewal, background checks are limited to local governments.
The Nevada Sheriffs' and Chiefs' Association sponsored the bill to put Nevada law in line with federal requirements. It died in the judiciary committee.
Assemblyman John Carpenter is a member of the committee, but was absent when the vote was taken. He could not be reached for comment.
Nevada was one of 16 states where the holder of a CCW is able to purchase an unlimited number of firearms without additional background checks.
Lotspeich said he is not sure what the impact of the new regulations will be to the average Elko County CCW permittee. Typical CCW holders do not purchase a large number of firearms, but collectors and traders do, he said.
Other provisions of the failed assembly bill would have increased the $60 application fee and $25 renewal fee up to $125 each.
A compromise amendment would have kept the initial application fee at $60 and increased renewal fees to $60, but the bill still did not receive enough support to leave the committee.
Lotspeich said one of the concerns lawmakers had was the cost increase.
Warren Russell, an Elko County Commissioner who was speaking on behalf himself not the county, testified to committee members he was not in favor of the initial proposal to increase the fees up to $125 because it was discriminatory against lower-income people.
“People who are concerned about their safety, if the fees are too high, they are just going to carry and not get a license,” he said.
It amounted to a revenue increase, Russell said, not just recovery of fees for services.
He said he would have supported the fee increase to $60 for a renewal because it would have been to recover costs for services.
In minutes of the meeting, some said they were concerned about a veto because of Governor Jim Gibbons' promise not to increase taxes or fees.
The cost for a background check each time a gun is purchased is $25, so CCW permit carriers who purchase more than three guns in the five year period would be better off financially with the legislative change.
(Comments link at the bottom of the page)
Letters to the Editor:
editor@elkodaily.com
Are you hiding something?: New federal regulations make background checks mandatory for all firearm purchases
By ALI HELGOTH - Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:41 AM PDT
Thanks to new federal regulations, those who possess Nevada Carry Concealed Weapon permits will no longer be exempt from background checks when they purchase firearms beginning July 1.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued the announcement on the heels of the failed Assembly Bill 21 in the 2007 Nevada Legislature session, which would have required residents who hold CCW permits to undergo the same requirements for a renewal as the initial application.
If that bill became law, CCW holders would not have to pass background checks when they purchase guns, as the law now stands.
The new regulations will only apply to those who hold CCWs and will not change the gun purchasing process for anyone else.
“Right now (CCWs are) good for five years and when you submit for a renewal you do not have to go through the background check process,” Elko County Sheriff Dale Lotspeich said.
When a party applies for an initial CCW permit, he or she undergoes an extensive background check process, Lotspeich said. When he or she submits a renewal, background checks are limited to local governments.
The Nevada Sheriffs' and Chiefs' Association sponsored the bill to put Nevada law in line with federal requirements. It died in the judiciary committee.
Assemblyman John Carpenter is a member of the committee, but was absent when the vote was taken. He could not be reached for comment.
Nevada was one of 16 states where the holder of a CCW is able to purchase an unlimited number of firearms without additional background checks.
Lotspeich said he is not sure what the impact of the new regulations will be to the average Elko County CCW permittee. Typical CCW holders do not purchase a large number of firearms, but collectors and traders do, he said.
Other provisions of the failed assembly bill would have increased the $60 application fee and $25 renewal fee up to $125 each.
A compromise amendment would have kept the initial application fee at $60 and increased renewal fees to $60, but the bill still did not receive enough support to leave the committee.
Lotspeich said one of the concerns lawmakers had was the cost increase.
Warren Russell, an Elko County Commissioner who was speaking on behalf himself not the county, testified to committee members he was not in favor of the initial proposal to increase the fees up to $125 because it was discriminatory against lower-income people.
“People who are concerned about their safety, if the fees are too high, they are just going to carry and not get a license,” he said.
It amounted to a revenue increase, Russell said, not just recovery of fees for services.
He said he would have supported the fee increase to $60 for a renewal because it would have been to recover costs for services.
In minutes of the meeting, some said they were concerned about a veto because of Governor Jim Gibbons' promise not to increase taxes or fees.
The cost for a background check each time a gun is purchased is $25, so CCW permit carriers who purchase more than three guns in the five year period would be better off financially with the legislative change.
(Comments link at the bottom of the page)
Letters to the Editor:
editor@elkodaily.com
