Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Applaud Nevada Governor Sisolak for Signing Police Accountability Legislation

The Nevada chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both a part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statement after Gov. Steve Sisolak signed into law Assembly Bill 3, legislation that would increase accountability for police violence: 

“This policy will promote gun safety, help increase community trust in law enforcement, and make Nevada a safer place for all its residents,” said Wendy Starkweather, a volunteer with the Nevada chapter of Moms Demand Action. “This is an important first step to addressing the continued police violence that disproportionately impacts Black and Latino communities in our state. We’re grateful to the lawmakers who expedited this priority bill during the special session, and we thank Governor Sisolak for signing it promptly.”

Assembly Bill 3 would prohibit the use of chokeholds. The bill would also hold law enforcement accountable by improving use of force standards and establishing a duty to intervene when officers witness excessive use of force. 

Every year, police in the U.S. shoot and kill more than 1,000 people. For each person shot and killed by police, two more are shot and have to go to the emergency department or be admitted to the hospital. Black people in the United States are nearly three times more likely to be shot and killed by police than white people, and data from The Guardian shows that most people killed by police are killed with guns. From 2013 to 2019, police in Nevada killed 121 people.

Statistics about gun violence in Nevada are available here, and information on how Nevada’s gun laws compared to other states overall is available here.