In Advance of Hearing, Legislators and Advocates Come Together to Discuss Gun Safety Bills

**LINK TO VIDEO**

NEVADA—Today, Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui and Senator Julie Pazina joined gun safety advocates for a press conference highlighting support for Assembly Bill 105 (AB105), Assembly Bill 245 (AB245), and Senate Bill 89 (SB89). Advocates discussed the need to address gun violence and the impact each policy will have on Nevada communities. The press conference occurred before a Joint Assembly & Judiciary Committee hearing on AB105, AB245, and SB89.

Assembly Floor Leader Jauregui issued the following statement:

“Gun safety advocates and myself are here today because we refuse to accept the unacceptable. We refuse to accept a reality where families are shattered by gun violence, where students are afraid to go to school, and where innocent lives are stolen because our laws do not do enough to protect them. This is not about politics. This is about people. This is about the lives of our children, our neighbors, our communities and our state. Each and every time we hear about another mass shooting, another act of violence, another family grieving and unimaginable loss, we know that thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need action. We need bold common sense life-saving policies, and we need it now.”

Senator Pazina issued the following statement:

“It's no secret that the temperature of national discourse is rising. The vision being sown by some politicians across the country feels fear. It turns neighbor against neighbor, and it puts communities at risk. We see it in the headlines. We hear in our neighborhoods, we feel in our everyday lives, and the consequences of this divisiveness are real, and they can't be ignored any longer. As a Jewish Nevadan, I've witnessed my communities and others like it come under attack simply because of the way we worship. I've seen places of worship vandalized threats made against religious institutions and families living in fear simply for practicing their faith. I've seen our brothers and sisters and siblings in the LGBTQ plus community targeted for who they are and for who they love. The right to live openly and authentically should not come with the risk of violence, and yet, time and again, we see members of this community attacked, harassed, and in the absolute worst cases, killed because of prejudice and hatred.”

Emily Persaud-Zamora, Executive Director of Silver State Voices, issued the following statement:

“Today is a monumental day at the Nevada legislature where we'll be hearing a variety of different gun bills, and the one that is nearest and dearest to my heart, and my organization's heart is AB105. This is a bill that addresses not allowing guns at polling locations at Silver State Voices, we and our partners all across the state work with each and every community to ensure that they are part of our democracy, and part of that work is ensuring that they are able to cast their ballot in a safe and secure manner. We know through our work on the field at polling locations that many folks feel intimidated when they see a gun, especially at a polling location.”

Christiane Brown with Brady issued the following statement:

“In the past two months, we have seen firsthand what happens when legislators don't care about the public, when legislators don't care about the safety of those in their communities, and we are here today to fight once again for that safety. The legislators’ choices have brought thousands upon thousands of Americans the feeling of being safe in their communities, safe at their polling places, safe against hate crimes, safe from children in their teens who are able to get a hold of guns. All of this is common sense gun violence prevention. It is past time that we do something about this.”

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