Universal Background Check Measure to Hit Nevada Ballot

A gun control measure expanding background checks to include purchases from private sellers or exhibitors at gun shows will be heading to the 2016 statewide ballot in Nevada.

According to the Associated Press, Nevadans for Background Checks has collected almost 250,000 signatures, well over the approximately 102,000 signatures from registered Nevada voters required for a measure to qualify for the ballot.

“Clearly, Nevadans want their elected leaders to require background checks on all gun sales,” Nevadans for Background Checks spokeswoman Kayla Keller told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “But if they refuse to act, the people of Nevada will have a chance to take matters into their own hands by voting for the Background Check Initiative in 2016.”

As the AP notes, the gun control group is hoping that Nevada will join Washington State, which just passed I-594, in requiring universal background checks for gun sales and transfers. In addition to Washington State, the District of Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island require universal background checks.

Under current Nevada law, criminal and mental health background checks are conducted for those who are buying guns from licensed dealers, but not from private sellers or exhibitors at gun shows.