Statutes allow for private sale gun checks

Steve Sebelius’s Wednesday column, “Money idles gun checks,” provided a well-written and straight-forward explanation of why Question 1 has a fatal flaw. However, his statement that there is “no way for a gun seller to be sure he or she isn’t supplying a firearm to a felon, a mentally ill person or a domestic abuser” is incorrect.

Nevada regulations, in NRS 202.254, state: “A private person who wishes to transfer a firearm to another person may, before transferring the firearm, request that the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History preform a background check on the person who wishes to acquire the firearm.” The regulation also states that the “Central Depository may not charge a fee for performing a background check.”

Nevada citizens do not need Question 1 to reduce the chance of guns falling into the hands of those forbidden to have firearms. That ability is already written in the regulations. And the background check is free.

Larry Blackwater

Las Vega

Big win

As a hunter and outdoor enthusiast, I applaud President Barack Obama’s decision to declare Gold Butte a national monument — and I take issue with the Review-Journal’s misleading Jan 2 editorial. The choice of words matters, as the editors are keenly aware.

To the uninformed, the words “land grab” might imply that ownership of the land changed with the declaration. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Gold Butte area is owned by every single American and managed for our multiple uses by the Bureau of Land Management. This did not change with the designation of national monument status. In fact, the designation ensures this will continue to be the case.

While the BLM can and does auction off land for needed development, this area was deemed so unique that it was chosen to be preserved as public land for future generations. While the new status may make certain types of destructive uses less likely, the majority of activities currently enjoyed — such as hiking, birding, fishing, hunting, four-wheeling, camping, etc. — will continue to be allowed.

Far from being an economic drag, the designation brings fresh attention from local land managers and scientists and tourist dollars from around the world. On a trip to Gold Butte I once met a family visiting from the Netherlands. They had seen pictures online and wanted to see the area in person.

Thank you to President Obama and to the many people who worked hard to achieve this designation, which is a big win for we the people.

Benjamin Moan

Henderson

Color blind

In response to your Wednesday front-page headline, “Day One, Latina No. 1”: Why is sex or ethnicity a matter of importance? I hope we elect people to represent us in the highest levels of government because of their qualifications, not their sex or ethnicity.

Catherine Cortez Masto may be highly qualified to represent me in the U.S. Senate. But her being a female and Latina is not a qualification. It is entirely irrelevant and very insulting to our newly elected senator to propose that she was elected because of her gender and race.

Thomas Hurd

Henderson

Russian games

Sarah Palin predicted in 2008 that under a weak Barack Obama, Russia would be tempted to invade Ukraine. In 2012, the now departing president ridiculed Mitt Romney for opining that Russia was the greatest geo-political threat to the United States.

How soon we forget the live mic into which Mr. Obama tells the Russian ambassador to tell Vladimir Putin things will be better after his re-election and, soon after, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hitting the red reset button.

During the years 2013-16, the Russians escalated their cyber attacks on the United States under the Obama administration but not until the Russians may have interfered or influenced the 2016 election do we have the politicians and CIA up in arms.

The above examples serve as a reminder of the sheer stupidity of our elected officials. They and the agencies they oversee are great at accessing and hacking into citizens’ information but can’t stop a foreign entity from doing the same.

Michael A. Donnelly

Las Vegas