Q-1 background checks promised

Attorney General-elect Aaron Ford said last week he will implement the 2016 ballot measure that his predecessor Adam Laxalt did not.

“The number one issue I heard from Nevadans is moving forward with the background check ballot initiative,” Ford said to a fund raising mailing to his supporters. “My predecessor refused to carry out the will of Nevada’s voters, but I’m committed to implementing thorough background checks for people buying firearms in our state.”

Policy wonks will be watching to see how Ford does it. The ballot measure specifically prohibits the use of state background checks and mandates FBI background checks. The initiative was never implemented because the FBI would not perform the checks and the state could not.

Why is Ford sending out fundraising mailers? He can’t face the voters again until 2020 at the earliest, but he said he still had the need to raise funds: “But I’m going to have deep-pocketed special interest groups fighting me at every step of the way, starting day one. That’s why I’m reaching out to you. I want to give my Victory Fund a boost to help combat whatever comes my way at the start of my term.”