This article is meant to take a look at Nevada’s open and concealed carry laws so that you folks can get a better idea what is and is not legal in the state.
Nevada protects the right to bear arms under Article I, Section 11 of the state constitution, but this does not mean that everyone may carry a gun, or that you may always carry a gun wherever you like. Nevada requires a license to carry a concealed weapon on your person.
For a carry license, an application must be completed and signed under oath by the applicant. The signature must be witnessed by an employee of the sheriff or notarized by a notary public. The application must include:
- the name, address, place and date of birth, social security number, occupation and employer of the applicant,
- a complete set of fingerprints taken by the sheriff or his agent;
- a frontal-view colored photograph taken by the sheriff or his agent;
- driver’s license or identification card number issued by the department;
- the make, model and caliber of each authorized semiautomatic firearm to which the application pertains; permits for revolvers pertain to all revolvers owned and need not be listed separately.
The following individuals are prohibited from applying for or carrying a weapon in Nevada:
- those younger than 21 years old
- people illegally residing in the United States
- fugitives from justice or those with outstanding warrants
- people prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law
- those that have been declared incompetent or insane
- people who have been committed (voluntarily or involuntarily) to a mental health facility in the past five years
- alcoholic or drug addicts, or those convicted of certain crimes having to do with alcohol or controlled substances
- those convicted of certain violent crimes (including domestic violence crimes) or other felonies, and
- people currently on parole or probation.
Now, there are certainly additional questions as well as more in-depth looks into such things as gun penalties and what public places do or do not allow concealed or open carry firearms. We will be going over those in specific articles, later on, due to the complexity of some of the situations. For right now, however, we have a wonderful FAQ page on our Nevada site with a lot of helpful information.
If you have specific questions that you would like covered in future articles about Nevada’s open carry laws, shoot us a comment below, and we will make sure to add them to future reports.
Information compounded from the NRA and Nevada state legal texts.