Nevada DPS will do background checks for private gun sales

The Department of Public Safety is conducting voluntary background checks for private gun sales.

Attorney General Adam Laxalt has advised the department those checks can’t be made mandatory as was anticipated in the 2016 voter-approved ballot question.

A statement released by DPS Director James Wright said that background checks for firearm sales between private parties are both permitted and encouraged in accordance with federal requirements.

In an October opinion, Laxalt advised the department the requirement for mandatory background checks can’t be enforced because the voter-approved law requires they be done through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and the FBI is refusing to conduct them.

The statement says consistent with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms procedures, the Nevada DPS will conduct voluntary private party background checks. Private parties wishing to have a background check of a gun buyer can do so through a licensed gun dealer but it’s up to the dealer whether they will actually send that request to DPS.

DPS officials say they will provide the service and, in those cases, will not charge the $25 fee. That fee will remain, however, for all transactions that directly involve a federally licensed gun dealer.