One year ago on May 17th, Joe Lombardo vetoed AB354, a bill that would have made our communities safer by cracking down on untraceable, unregulated weapons known as ghost guns. Lombardo claimed he vetoed that Democrat-led legislation because it and other bills like it “don’t pass constitutional muster,” but Nevada’s Supreme Court has since upheld AB286, another bill tackling ghost guns, proving that Lombardo’s excuse was a flimsy, politically-motivated cover up — and exactly the type of rhetoric that one might expect from someone beholden to the gun lobby like Joe Lombardo. 

This comes after Lombardo was caught lying while courting the gun lobby on the campaign trail in 2021, saying ghost guns were “not a big issue” and significantly downplaying the number of ghost guns confiscated by law enforcement. In an attempt to win over his far-right base during a competitive primary for governor, Lombardo claimed only six ghost guns had been confiscated. In fact, that figure was in the hundreds. Despite Lombardo lying about the threat these untraceable weapons posed, Democrats put forth additional legislation to protect our communities and outlaw ghost guns. Unfortunately for Nevada families, this bill was among Lombardo’s record-breaking 75 vetoes.   

“One year ago, Joe Lombardo made the decision to veto legislation that would have cracked down on ghost guns, effectively allowing for the proliferation of untraceable and unregulated weapons in our communities,” said Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Tai Sims. “Instead of working to protect Nevada families, Lombardo was on the campaign trail lying about the very real threat ghost guns pose to our communities and proving yet again he will always prioritize his own political gain and special interests over Nevadans.”