This week, the Nevada State Supreme Court upheld AB286, the state’s 2021 law banning the sale and possession of ghost guns. This comes on the heels of Joe Lombardo’s veto of AB354, a similar bill that would have cracked down on dangerous ghost guns to keep communities safe. Lombardo claimed he vetoed that Democrat-led legislation because it and other bills like it “don’t pass constitutional muster”, but Nevada’s Supreme Court’s decision to uphold AB286 shows that Lombardo’s excuse was a flimsy, politically-motivated cover-up — and exactly the type of rhetoric that one might expect from someone beholden to the gun lobby like Joe Lombardo.
Lombardo was previously caught having lied while courting the gun lobby on the campaign trail in 2021, when he significantly downplayed the number of ghost guns confiscated by law enforcement. In an attempt to win over his far-right base during a competitive primary for governor, Lombardo claimed only six ghost guns had been confiscated. In fact, that figure was in the hundreds. Despite Lombardo lying about the threat these untraceable weapons posed, Democrats put forth additional legislation to protect our communities and outlaw ghost guns. Unfortunately for Nevada families, this bill was among Lombardo’s record-breaking 75 vetoes.
“While Democrats took serious action to get untraceable weapons off our streets, Joe Lombardo was on the campaign trail lying about the very real threat ghost guns posed to our communities,” said Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Tai Sims. “Instead of working to protect Nevada families, Lombardo lied about the threat of ghost guns and lied about his reason for vetoing this legislation, proving yet again he will always prioritize his own political gain.”
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