CONFIRMED! Blue Card Records Destroyed!

One year ago, June 2, 2015, something wonderful happened for Nevada gun owners when Gov. Brian Sandoval signed Senate Bills 175 and 240 into law. Each bill contained identical provisions enhancing state preemption of local firearm laws, enacting enhanced preemption of local gun laws that also abolished Clark County's handgun registration system ('blue cards'). The bill provided a one year deadline (today, 6/2/2016) for all handgun registration records to be destroyed. Today, we have confirmed that the Las Vegas Metro Police, the sole repository of such records in Clark County, have destroyed all records of registration. 

Theft Crimes Bureau (CCW Unit) and the Records Bureau were involved in the destruction. Interestingly, some records had not been digitized (probably the older records dating from circa 1980). Microfilm and print records were shredded prior to January 1, 2016. Digital records were verified as deleted on May 15, 2016. The full response can be seen below.

Metro's initial response last June detailed that they had not formulated destruction plans immediately after the passage of the bills, but were focused on implementing the cessation of registration and informing gun dealers of the changes to local ordinances.

Formerly, state law prohibited local municipalities from making their own firearm regulations (except regarding discharge of firearms) and handgun registration in Clark County was also exempted, along with a few other odd ordinances. These laws have been enhanced to eliminate handgun registration (‘blue cards’), including their destruction above, and required local governments to take obsolete firearm laws off the books (also completed by the end of October 2015), and clarified language that specifies no existing local laws or regulations regarding firearms are permissible whatsoever.

Full text of LVMPD's reply

We at Nevada Carry would like to thank Officer Larry Hadfield and the other three PIOs, who have fielded over 1,700 requests this year, for providing this information on the anniversary of the passage of the bill. However, given the sensitivity regarding gun registration and the legislated requirement imposed upon the department, Sheriff Lombardo and LVMPD administration should have made this information public without the intense and repeated prompting that was required for this response.

For anyone who doubts, you may contact Metro at either sheriff@lvmpd.com and pio@lvmpd.com. At this time Nevada Carry has no reason to doubt the records were destroyed. Even so, the lack of independent verification or any other form of documentation is disturbing and a gross oversight of LVMPD administration, but again, there is no evidence to indicate any failure to comply or reasons to doubt the destruction of records.