AP Photo/John Locher
A bill that would expand the criminal penalties for bringing a gun into casinos in Nevada narrowly passed out of the state Senate on Wednesday on a 11-10 vote, and the legislation is being criticized not only by Second Amendment organizations but police unions and the state’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. While the ACLU isn’t usually a defender of the right to keep and bear arms, the Nevada chapter says the bill could lead to casinos calling the cops on black and brown patrons they suspect might have a gun on them.
Las Vegas is really kind of the heart of Nevada. The things people think of when they think of the state all, for the most part, revolve around what made Las Vegas what it is today. Namely, casinos and gambling.
Yet Nevada used to also be a very pro-gun state. People visiting Las Vegas from other countries would hop on over to a range and shoot guns the likes of which they could never even look at legally in their home nations.
It’s unfortunate that you can’t really carry a gun into a casino, though. Despite both being things that Vegas and Nevada are known for, lawmakers don’t want them to mix.
That same issue was raised by the ACLU and several others.
“This simply is a potentially deadly bill with good intentions,” said Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the Nevada ACLU.
Clark County Public Defender John Piro also expressed concerns the bill would lead to stop and frisk actions by the Metropolitan Police called to the scene for a suspected firearms violation. He too said the victims would invariably be disproportionately people of color.
Sen. Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, who said the bill “is almost asking to pat some one down.”
Dan Reid of the NRA asked why MGM can’t take care of its own security issues by arming its security staff.
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