Comments (7) | Add a comment
Change sought for concealed weapons permits
Tools
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Aug. 4, 2010 | 7:53 a.m.
A Nevada lawmaker wants to make it harder for the public to determine who is packing heat.
Assemblyman Don Gustavson, R-Sparks, asked the Legislative Counsel Bureau to draft a bill for the 2011 legislative session that would make personal information related to concealed carry permits confidential.
"When a permit holder goes down and gets a concealed weapons permit, they are led to believe any information they gave is confidential," Gustavson said. "If all that info gets out there, people can just find out who has the guns and go to your house and take the guns."
The request stems from a July 1 opinion by the state Supreme Court in a case between the Reno Gazette-Journal and Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley.
The newspaper sought records related to the concealed carry permit issued to Gov. Jim Gibbons to confirm whether it had been suspended or revoked.
Haley wouldn't release the records, reasoning that since state law maintains information on concealed carry permit applications is private, information on the actual permit and subsequent actions could be considered private as well.
The court ruled certain information on the permits is public record and subject to disclosure, prompting Gustavson to make the bill draft request.
In its unanimous opinion, the court distinguished between information on the permit application, which state law says is confidential, and information on the permit and related actions, such as suspension or revocation.
Because the statute "is silent concerning the confidentiality of post-permit investigation, suspension, or revocation records, we must conclude that such records are open to public inspection unless they contain information that is expressly declared confidential by statute," the opinion stated.
"The intent of the law, I believe, was to keep all that information confidential," said Gustavson, who is running for the seat being vacated by state Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks.
Democratic candidate for governor Rory Reid would support such a bill, spokesman Mike Trask said.
Republican candidate Brian Sandoval didn't take a stance on Gustavson's proposal. Sandoval spokeswoman Mary-Sarah Kinner said he would need to see the entire bill before deciding.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
To gtsspkt:
Just shows Liberals like gtsspkt are dumber than the rest. Gtsspkt's liberal logic is so thin he can't imagine that somebody might own more than 1 gun.
I own several guns that are locked in a gun safe but that would not prevent some burglar from breaking in and ransacking my home if he knew from records made public that I was a gun owner.
Furthermore, people are more apt to become a victim if a stalker could look up records to learn first if somebody was concealed or not. Nevada is a safer place because punks have no idea who is silently packing or not. This is an excellent bill, and Sandoval is a wimp for not taking a stand on it.
Just shows politicians are dumber than the rest. Logic would dictate that the CCW holder would have the gun with them, not at their homes when gone. Plus, if you need government help in finding guns in NV homes you are probably the worst burglar in history.
Come on by, I have 14 rounds waiting in my hand...
I don't necessarily know if this bill is a good thing or not, but I am somewhat uncomfortable with such knowledge being made public. I don't understand what legitimate interest is served by making the information available to everyone. If someone with a permit commits a crime, the crime is public record. But, if not, why does the general public need to know about one’s permit activities? Kudos to Sandoval for being willing to study the whole bill before commenting on it. That is a refreshing response in elections season. By commenting early, he might have gotten a juicy sound bite, but he would have not had a chance to fully consider all of the issues involved. Good for him.
When I went down and applyed for my CCW, I had to stand in line with Felons who had to registar who just got out of prison, and strippers. I want to know there names and where they live! (not so much the felons though)! I want to know where all of the polititions live so I can drive by and say hi every once in a while. I would also like to stop by police officers houses and tell them how they should be doing there jobs! I want to know what kind of toilet paper the City Counsel uses, I may want to try it! After all, my head would be so far up everyones butts that I would want something to make it smell better!
"The court ruled certain information on the permits is public record..." Nothing like letting the criminals know where you live. Who is on this 'court' to jeopardize those who carry? VOTE THEM OUT TOO!!!!
The public has no right to know who does or doesn't have a CCW. That, indeed, is private information and should not be given out to anyone who just "wants" it. Only if an individual is convicted of a felony should that information be made available and even then the release of that information is questionable to say the least.