According to Firearm Chronicles
Nevada is one of those weird states that flirts with being pro-gun and anti-gun. After all, with Las Vegas right there, you get the urban environment demanding gun control, but you also have a huge gun tourism business with people coming in from all over the world, in part, to shoot things like machine guns.
It’s weird.
But the state will definitely pass some gun control laws, and one banning unserialized firearms just went into effect.
New year, new laws, and several of these are now in effect for the first time in Nevada, including banning guns without serial numbers.
The new law makes it illegal to buy or sell guns that do not have serial numbers, better known as “ghost guns” or untraceable firearms. Nevada Assembly Bill 286 was passed by state lawmakers last year and signed by Governor Steve Sisolak in June.
The bill targets guns often made at home from kits or 3-D printers.
There are exceptions to the law, including guns made before serial numbers were required, antique firearms (which fall into the earlier category if you ask me), and inoperable firearms. It also doesn’t apply to gun manufacturers in the state who would likely run afoul of the law at some point during the manufacturing process.
However, as I noted earlier talking about Denver’s ghost gun ban, if the issue is purely not having a serial number on the gun, adding a serial number should negate the issue. Put it on the receiver before it’s a functional receiver and you never have to worry about breaking the law.
In the case of a 3D-printed firearm, perhaps being able to add a serial number to the file would cover that same ground.
Don’t get me wrong; I think this law is colossally stupid. Criminals are still going to make these guns, and they’re not going to be deterred by another law. This will only impact law-abiding citizens who enjoy making their own firearms for whatever reason.
For criminals, they look at regulations like this and think they’re oh-so-adorable.
Honestly, I don’t see how anyone can think these laws will do anything. If anyone knows why, please explain it to me. Criminals will still make their own guns and use them. They’ll likely do them more now than they have been because the issue has been overstated so many times, but now they’ll be thinking about it more and more and decide, “What the hell? This is a business opportunity!”
Look, I get that some in the nation aren’t thrilled that people can do this, and I get that some in the gun rights community are even uncomfortable with this, but this technology is here to stay, and we need to celebrate it.
After all, gun control is never going to disarm a people who can simply rearm themselves with a few keystrokes on the computer.
Laws like this can try, but they’re not really going to accomplish a whole hell of a lot. Not anything good, at least.