This opinion column was submitted by Gabriella Hoffman, host of the District of Conservation podcast.
In 2021, more Nevadans purchased firearms to take safety into their own hands than ever before. It’s too bad state lawmakers responded by passing legislation that criminalized custom gun makers and their customers. Thankfully, it didn’t stick — a Nevada district judge nullified key parts of the law earlier this month. As we head into the New Year, lawmakers should spend less time trying to strip law abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights and focus instead on fighting actual crime.
Signed into law by Gov. Steve Sisolak earlier this year, Assembly Bill 286 singled out Polymer80, a company that sells unfinished receivers and tools for gun kits, maligning them as a maker of “ghost guns,” which they aren’t. Even worse, however, the new law intentionally criminalized both the company and its customers for selling and possessing “unfinished firearms frames or receivers,” respectively.