Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a trio of gun-control bills Wednesday while his office threatened to ax the state budget if his priorities aren\u2019t addressed, in the strongest conflict yet for Nevada\u2019s split-party government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a combative shift for Lombardo, who previously said he would not use the \u201cbig hammer of veto\u201d to get his school-choice legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. He has also remained tight-lipped on several ambitious Democratic proposals, including the gun control measures before Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The moves came a day after Democratic leadership said they would kill Lombardo\u2019s sweeping school-safety bill, which would remove requirements for students to be expelled for certain acts amid a reported uptick in school violence. They instead invited him to pitch the measure as an amendment to a similar bill that they\u2019re pushing. Lombardo\u2019s school-choice proposals, with various mechanisms at providing public funding to help students access private schools, have also received an icy reception by Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a budget is not approved by July 1, state services, including schools and state agencies, may shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf he follows through and stakes out an extremist position, he will have to explain to Nevadans why their kids\u2019 schools are not opening on time, public safety services are reduced, and other essential state services are shut down,\u201d Democratic Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lombardo\u2019s office did not provide additional comment on the budget veto threat beyond confirming his position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the trio of gun-control bills marked the first vetoes of Lombardo\u2019s tenure since becoming the only Republican to unseat an incumbent Democratic governor in the 2022 midterms. The move could be an early indication of how Lombardo will respond to other party-line measures that come from the Legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will not support legislation that infringes on the constitutional rights of Nevadans,\u201d Lombardo said in a statement announcing his vetoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the gun-control bills would have raised the eligible age to possess semiautomatic shotguns and assault weapons from 18 to 21. Another would have barred possession of a gun within 100 yards (91 meters) of an election site entrance with narrow exceptions, while also solidifying language meant to ban homemade \u201cghost guns.\u201d A third bill would have prohibited owning a firearm within a decade of a gross misdemeanor or felony hate-crime conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vetoes came moments before a news conference scheduled by Democratic leadership and gun control advocacy groups to urge Lombardo to sign the legislation. Standing in front of the legislative building, they chastised his decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI desperately wish the governor would put the safety of Nevadans ahead of partisan politics,\u201d said Democratic Assembly Majority Floor Leader Sandra Jauregui, who sponsored two of the bills and survived the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the bills would better protect Nevada in the wake of recent mass shootings, including one this week in New Mexico, where an 18-year-old gunman killed three and injured six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lombardo, the Clark County sheriff at the time of the Las Vegas mass shooting, had previously bucked other Republicans by supporting background checks. But he still positions himself as firmly pro-Second Amendment while touting his NRA membership. He promised on the campaign trail to veto any legislation curtailing access to \u201cghost guns,\u201d privately-made firearms without serial numbers that are nearly impossible for law enforcement to trace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his veto letters, Lombardo cited recent court rulings that struck down gun-control legislation, including one that nullified a similar law in California that would ban the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that existing law sufficiently addresses people convicted of hate crimes and the bill \u201cwould effectively open the door to more laws\u201d for those convicted of gross misdemeanors. He added that the bill prohibiting firearms from election sites is \u201ccommendable\u201d but too broad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democratic leaders \u2014 who hold a veto-proof supermajority in the state Assembly and are one away from that in the Senate \u2014 said they would continue to press for gun-control legislation \u201cwith or without (Lombardo\u2019s) cooperation\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe sent over three common sense options \u2014 bills, by the way, that Republicans are supporting in other states across this country today,\u201d said Democratic Sen. Dallas Harris, who sponsored the bill prohibiting firearm possession ten years after a hate crime conviction. \u201cAnd if this is how he wants to run his office, if these are the first bills he wants to veto, then game on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lombardo, who steered a moderate path compared to his primary challengers in the 2022 midterms, has not commented on nearly every other bill still in play. This includes measures that would establish trust fund investments for the children of families who receive Medicaid known as \u201cbaby bonds,\u201dcriminalize fake electors and cap certain drug prices to federally negotiated Medicare rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n