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Students affected by the 2023 campus shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – that killed three people and injured three others – are calling out Gov. Joe Lombardo for his recent veto of Senate Bill 156. The legislation would have established a special counsel for gun violence prevention under the Nevada Attorney General’s Office.
Imer Cespedes-Alvarado, founder and executive director with Youth Voice of Nevada, said while Lombardo’s decision feels like a betrayal, the veto isn’t an end to their ongoing battle to ensure Nevada is a safer place.
“This bill was proposing a bridge between the community and elected officials to make sure that we can get rid of those political left or right-wing messaging regarding gun violence,” he explained.
He added that backers of the bill included grassroots organizers and UNLV students of diverse political backgrounds. Lombardo said the bill “took the wrong approach,” and added that the special counsel would have been granted “broad authority.” In a statement, the National Rifle Association thanked Lombardo for his “continued commitment to protecting the second amendment.”
The legislation would have also supported educational campaigns on firearm safety and suicide prevention as well as collected data on arrests and prosecutions related to violations of firearm laws.
Allister Dias, Youth Voice of Nevada member, argued Lombardo’s reasoning to veto the measure doesn’t make sense given the bipartisan support for the bill.
“The reasoning that he provided is for lack of a better phrase a slap in the face to many of the students who said ‘Hey, we’re not going to make this one sided, we’re not going to subscribe to one side of the political aisle,'” he explained.
While Dias wishes the governor would have signed the bill, he said he is content in seeing people of different political thoughts and opinions come together and hear each other out.
“I think that to me really opened my eyes because it shows me that in order for Nevada to make any change, regardless of the issue at hand, it is important for us to work together on both sides of the political aisle,” he continued.
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