Top Story

Update: Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo vetoed the gun safety legislation referenced below.

On Monday, Nevada Democrats ushered a trio of gun safety bills through the Legislature, passing measures that would bar people convicted of a hate crime from possessing a gun for 10 years after their conviction, close loopholes in ghost gun regulations, prohibit guns within 100 feet of a polling site, and raise the age to purchase an assault-style rifle or semiautomatic shotgun to 21. The bills, which squeaked by on party-line votes, are now with Republican Governor Joe Lombardo — a former sheriff who campaigned partially as a gun rights advocate with a promise to veto any legislation that “takes away” the right to “create our own guns.”

As of Tuesday night, Lombardo’s office hadn’t said whether the governor would veto the legislation or not. And it’s entirely possible that Lombardo might wait to issue his decision: He’s remained quiet on a number of ambitious bills championed by Democrats, who control the Legislature. The delay, as the Associated Press reported, could be a strategy to set up last-minute deals on his legislative priorities as the session heads to a close.

Lombardo, however, is a more complex political figure than that campaign promise indicates. While he espoused the usual right-wing talking points on education and crime during his gubernatorial race, his rhetoric was far more moderate than other Trump-backed conservatives on issues like abortion and gender-affirming health care — or, at the very least, he kept his positions better obscured. 

He also wasn’t always so extreme on gun policy. In 2016, he told the Las Vegas Sun that “there’s no need to have a high-capacity magazine for any practical reason.” After the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas, The Daily Beast reported, survivors came to see him as a symbol of “Vegas Strong.” He’s also said he supports universal background checks. Lombardo, it appears, is a creature of political winds — perhaps malleable to the will of the majority of American voters who favor gun safety proposals like some of those sent to his desk.

From Our Team

On Tuesday, Philadelphia voters chose Cherelle Parker as the Democratic nominee for mayor. In the historically blue city, that means she’ll likely become its first woman chief executive in November.

Gun violence was at the center of this year’s crowded primary race, as candidates including Parker promised to prioritize ending the crisis. A record six of the city’s 17 City Council members resigned to run, as did City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart. The Democratic field also included a millionaire business owner, a member of the Pennsylvania House, a retired judge, and a minister. Parker distinguished herself early on by signaling that she would encourage the Police Department to crack down on gun violence, including through the legal application of stop-and-frisk.

Read more from The Trace’s Mensah M. Dean →

What to Know Today

At least three people were killed and six others injured in a mass shooting in Farmington, New Mexico, on Monday. Police said the suspected shooter, an 18-year-old, is dead. [Farmington Daily Times]

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against a New Jersey ban on the concealed carry of firearms in “sensitive places” like restaurants, libraries, and museums. The judge ruled that the state didn’t show “sufficient historical evidence” to support the ban, but that other aspects of the state’s new concealed carry law, passed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, were consistent with the Second Amendment. [Bloomberg Law News]

Texas school officials are urging lawmakers to create a funding source for mental health care that isn’t tied to school safety. Following a series of mass shootings in recent years, the state poured hundreds of millions of dollars into school districts to address both mental health and school safety, but much of that money was spent on building upgrades to obstruct shooters. [The Texas Tribune

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins released video footage of a Walgreens security guard shooting and killing Banko Brown, a 24-year-old community organizer accused of shoplifting, showing the guard punching Brown and firing at him as he left the store. Jenkins says she won’t file charges against the guard. [San Francisco Chronicle/The Guardian]

The historical test for gun laws instituted by Bruen is forcing lower federal courts to examine who counted as American “people” two centuries ago. It’s raising uncomfortable, and sometimes awkward, questions. [The New Republic]

Numerous governments, both friendly to the U.S. and not, are warning citizens about traveling to America amid a rise in mass shootings. As the U.S. prepares to host major world events like the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics, could the gun violence crisis cause the country to lose out on millions — maybe even billions — of tourism dollars? [Los Angeles Times]

A newly resurfaced FBI video meant to train Americans in the “Run, Hide, Fight” school of surviving a mass shooting is drawing scorn across the globe. “If European countries want to deter brain drain to the US,” a European tech investor wrote on LinkedIn, “they should just play this FBI video to their soon-to-be graduates.” [The Guardian]

Data Point

$350 million — the amount of money host cities could lose if 7 percent of foreign travelers — the proportion who said they’d do so in a 2018 survey — decline to attend an international event in the U.S. The pace of mass shootings has only accelerated since that survey was released. [Los Angeles Times]