As law enforcement continues to gather details on how Stephen Paddock obtained the rifles he used in Sunday’s mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, elected officials are using the incident to again call for stricter gun laws.
Nevada is no stranger to gun law reform efforts and the political battles that ensue.
Last year, voters in the state narrowly passed Question 1, an initiative that required most private buyers and sellers of guns to conduct a background check through a licensed dealer. Millions of dollars from national groups supporting and opposing the law poured into the state.
The initiative, which passed by 50.4% to 49.5%, mandated that private-party gun sales — with a few exceptions, such as transfers between family members — be subject to a federal background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is administered by the FBI.
That’s where language in the law ran into a roadblock.
In December, the FBI sent a letter to the Nevada Department of Public Safety, noting it would not conduct these checks. In its letter, officials from the agency said that “the recent passage of the Nevada legislation regarding background checks for private sales cannot dictate how federal resources are applied.â€
The letter prompted the Department of Public Safety to seek guidance from Nevada Atty. Gen. Adam Laxalt.
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Windows are broken at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino in Las Vegas on Oct. 3, 2017.
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A woman pauses while looking at some of the 58 white crosses honoring the victims of Sunday night’s mass shooting on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip on October 5, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The crosses were put up by Greg Zanis, who drove from the Chicago area to install them.
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New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans shine flashlights during a moment of silence for the victims of the Las Vegas shootings before an NFL football game on Oct. 5, 2017, in Tampa, Fla.
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A makeshift memorial for the victims of Sunday night’s mass shooting stands at an intersection of the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, October 3, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Matthew Helms, who worked as a medic Sunday, the night of the Las Vegas Strip shooting, visits a makeshift memorial for the victims Tuesday, on the north end of the Strip.
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The U.S. Capitol dome backdrops flags at half-staff in honor of the victims killed in the Las Vegas shooting as the sun rises on Oct. 3, 2017, at the foot of the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington.
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Keli McDade, of Las Vegas, leans on her son Ayden during a candle light vigil at Town Square to remember those killed and injured the day after a lone gunman open fired onto a county music festival from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay hotel killing 59 and wounding 527 people on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Members of the Guardian Angel Cathedral congregation for embrace each other after a prayer event to honor the victims of the mass shooting that killed 59 people and wounded more than 525, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 2, 2017.
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University of Nevada Las Vegas students Raymond Lloyd, right, and Karla Rodriguez take part in a vigil Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas.
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Mourners attend a candlelight vigil at the corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard for the victims of Sunday night’s mass shooting, October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Reed Broschart, center, hugs his girlfriend Aria James on the Las Vegas Strip in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a concert, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. The couple, both of Ventura, Calif., attended the concert.
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Mourners pay tributes at a makeshift memorial on the Las Vegas Strip for the victims of a mass shooting in Las Vegas, October 2, 2017.
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Mourners attend a candlelight vigil at the corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard for the victims of Sunday night’s mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, 2017.
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Mourners attend a candlelight vigil at the corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard for the victims of Sunday night’s mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, 2017.
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Investigators load bodies from the scene of a mass shooting at a music festival near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip on Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas.
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Women make phone calls while taking shelter inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at Route 91 Harvest Festival on Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Al Powers/Invision/AP)
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President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, participate in a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 2, 2017, for the victims of the shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Eric Paddock, left, brother of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, speaks to members of the media outside his home, Oct. 2, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. Paddock told the Orlando Sentinel: “We are completely dumbfounded. We can’t understand what happened.â€
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A woman cries while hiding inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas.
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Discarded personal items covered in blood sit on Kovaln Lane, in the aftermath of the mass shooting leaving at least 58 dead and more than 500 injured, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 2, 2017.
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Debris is strewn through the scene of a mass shooting at a music festival near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas.
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Drapes billow out of broken windows at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, on the Las Vegas Strip following a deadly shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas.
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People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gunfire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A gunman has opened fire on a music festival in Las Vegas, leaving at least 50 people dead and more than 400 injured.
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A cowboy hat lays in the street after a mass shooting at a country music festival on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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People hug and cry outside the Thomas & Mack Center after a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the music festival, leaving at least 50 people dead and hundreds injured.
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A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas.
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People take cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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People flee the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after a active shooter was reported on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer stands in the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave. after a mass shooting at a country music festival nearby on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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A man comforts a woman as others flee the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after a active shooter was reported on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Police officers stand by as medical personnel tend to a person on Tropicana Ave. near Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival nearby on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Police officers point their weapons at a car driving down closed Tropicana Ave. near Las Vegas Boulevard after a reported mass shooting at a country music festival nearby on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers patrol Tropicana Ave. near Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival nearby on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Police officers stand along the Las Vegas Strip the Mandalay Bay resort and casino during a shooting near the casino, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas.
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A body lies under a sheet as fire and rescue personnel gather at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave. after a mass shooting at a country music festival nearby on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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An ambulance leaves the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave. after a mass shooting at a country music festival nearby on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Police officers advise people to take cover near the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas.
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Police run at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas.
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Las Vegas police stand guard along the streets outside the the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after a active shooter was reported on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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People run for cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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People tend to the wounded outside the festival ground after an apparent shooting on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
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A police officer takes cover behind a police vehicle during a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas.
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People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(David Becker / Getty Images) Two weeks after the initial letter from the FBI, Laxalt, a Republican who opposed Question 1, released an opinion saying that “citizens may not be prosecuted for their inability to comply with the Act unless and until the FBI changes its public position and agrees to conduct the background checks consistent with the Act.â€
At the time, Laxalt’s office also sent out a statement, stressing that “without this central feature [the FBI background check]†the initiative “cannot commence.â€
To date, the initiative remains in limbo and has not gone into effect.
Under state law, the language of ballot initiatives approved by the electorate cannot be changed by the Legislature for three years.
