PROSECUTORS AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE ‘The Honorable Brian Sandoval Governor of Nevada 101 North Carson St. #1 Carson City, NV 89701 The Honorable Adam Laxalt Attorney General of Nevada 100 North Carson St. Carson City, NV 89701 November 15, 2017 Re: Implementation of Nevada’s Background Check Law Dear Governor Sandoval and Attorney General Laxalt: We are members of Prosecutors Against Gun Violence, an independent, non-partisan coalition of prosecutors from across the country that identifies and promotes prosecutorial, legislative, and policy solutions to gun violence. As prosecutors sworn to uphold the aw and ensure the safety of our communities, we urge you to take immediate steps to implement the Background Check Law passed last November by Nevada voters, including contacting and working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to establish Nevada as a partial point of contact, state, By passing Question 1, Nevadans voted to close the state's background check loophole and provide law enforcement with a key tool to help combat gun violence in the state. As Governor and Attomey General, you have the obligation to work to implement this important Nevada law immediately. sy day that Nevada’s Background Check Law goes unenforced is another day for a domestic abuser, stalker, or other dangerous individual to get their hands on a firearm through an unlicensed sale without a background check and hurt or kill someone or themselves. Failure to enforce the Background Check Law and close the federal gun show loophole also allows Nevada to persist as an exporter of gun violence through unregulated gun sales. According to a recent report from the University of California, Berkeley, California hospitals within a two-hour drive from the Nevada-California state border experience a 70 percent increase in admissions for shooting injuries within the two weeks after the start of a gun show in Nevada, It is too easy for dangerous individuals to get their hands on a firearm in Nevada. Last month’s tragedy in Las Vegas was a sobering reminder of what can happen because of just one violent person, and while no one law will prevent all crime, we are deeply troubled that the sensible public safety law passed by voters remains unenforced nearly a year after the election. By working with the FBI to implement the state’s Background Check Law, you can not only honoryour obligation to voters but also do your part to ensure Nevada joins the 18 other states that have passed similar laws, States with these laws have fewer gun deaths among law enforcement (53 percent) and victims of domestic violence (47 percent), as well as less gun trafficking in cities (48 percent), compared to states that have not closed the loophole, As prosecutors, we can only work with the tools that are put in our toolbox, and we urge you to provide this important tool to Nevada law enforcement. By working to implement the Background Check Law, you can help Nevada’s law enforcement officers protect communities across the state by keep guns out of the hands of people barred from possessing them. We welcome the opportunity to further discuss this matter with you. Sincerely, Steven Wolfson Clark County District Attorney and Member of PAGV ALI Anes Michael Feuer Los Angeles City Attomey and Co-Chair of PAGV ae vere Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. Manhattan District Attorney and Co-Chair of PAGV ce: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto Senator Dean Heller Congressman Mark Amod. Congresswoman Jacky Rosen Congresswoman Dina Titus