VICTOR JOECKS: Las Vegas economy, SHOT show could be hurt by this anti-gun proposal

An anti-gun owner bill could put another hole in Nevada’s struggling economy.

On Wednesday, Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui presented Assembly Bill 286. The bill would increase penalties on people who carry a firearm onto a property whose owner has banned guns. Property owners already may prohibit weapons, but the measure would make it a potential felony to ignore the restriction. That even applies to people who have concealed carry permits.

The bill also would ban guns that people make or assemble themselves unless they had a serial number. There isn’t even a grandfather clause for those who already own such a gun. By January 2022, they would have to sell their weapons, turn them over to the government or risk arrest.

This bill has a host of problems. Start with how it could hurt Nevada’s economy. Back when the governor permitted large gatherings, the SHOT Show was one of the largest conventions in Las Vegas.

“Our show brings in roughly 70,000 people per year,” Michael Findlay, a representative of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which owns the SHOT show, said while testifying in opposition. “We do over $130 million of direct economic benefit to the Nevada economy every year.”

As you probably guessed, the SHOT show is a trade show for commercial firearm buyers and sellers. That involves moving and displaying massive numbers of firearms. The firearms displayed on the trade floor are inoperable, but the show includes live fire exercises at a local range.

Shortly before the hearing, Jauregui did offer an amendment that attempted to exempt firearm trade shows. Findlay said he wasn’t sure it was comprehensive enough.

“We love Vegas,” he said. But “this bill would be a logistical nightmare for us.”

Potentially driving away large conventions isn’t a great economic development strategy. Attendees of firearms trade shows “are a vital part of our economy,” John McManus, executive vice president of MGM, who testified in favor of the bill, admitted. This isn’t the only gun show in Nevada, either.

Just as concerning is the message this bill sends to both in-state and out-of-state gun owners. Last session, one of the Democrats’ top priorities was reducing penalties for many criminal offenses. This bill would increase penalties on CCW-holders for nothing more than peacefully carrying their weapons.

See the difference? Some Democrats want to decrease penalties on people who break the law, while increasing penalties on people for simply having a gun with them. Not exactly tourist friendly.

This gets to the principal problem with this bill and many gun-control proposals. It imposes the greatest restrictions on the gun owners least likely to commit crimes. The government issues CCW-permits only to those who aren’t prohibited from possessing a firearm and who have completed a course in firearms safety. Further, those who are carrying weapons illegally are unlikely to abide by a sign telling them weapons are prohibited. If they cared about the law, they wouldn’t have a firearm in the first place.

Guns — absent human choices — aren’t dangerous. How some people use firearms is. This bill fails to make that distinction.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.