Standing Up for Constitutional Rights
Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo isn’t backing down. After a troubled young man from Las Vegas drove across the country and killed four people in a New York City office building, politicians started pointing fingers at Nevada’s gun laws. But Lombardo says that’s missing the real problem.
“I think it still boils down to the operator versus the weapon, and the fact that we have a lack of mental health services in the United States in total,” Lombardo told reporter Steve Sebelius. “You know, it still requires an individual to make that decision.”
This kind of clear thinking is exactly what conservatives want to hear from their leaders. While liberal politicians rush to blame guns and demand more restrictions on law-abiding citizens, Lombardo focuses on the real issue: getting help to people who need it before they hurt themselves or others.
The Real Story Behind the Tragedy
Shane Devon Tamura, the 27-year-old shooter, had serious mental health problems. He was placed on two emergency mental health holds – one in 2022 and another in 2024. These holds let doctors keep someone for up to 72 hours if they might hurt themselves or others.
Tamura left notes claiming he suffered from brain damage from playing high school football. He blamed the NFL for hiding the dangers of head injuries and asked doctors to study his brain after he died. This wasn’t about guns. This was about a sick man who didn’t get the help he needed.
Police say Tamura bought the rifle used in the attack from his boss at the Horseshoe Casino for $1,400. The weapon was legally purchased and legally owned by the supervisor who sold it to Tamura.
Liberal Politicians Play the Blame Game
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, immediately tried to blame Nevada for the tragedy. She claimed Nevada’s “weak” gun laws let the shooter buy weapons and drive them to New York, where such rifles are banned.
But here’s what Hochul won’t tell you: Since 2020, Nevada requires background checks for all private gun sales, closing the so-called “gun show loophole.” The state follows federal law. If someone passes a background check, they can legally buy a gun.
Lombardo pointed out that Tamura could have caused just as much damage with other weapons. Police found a .357-caliber Magnum revolver in his car along with lots of ammunition.
“Now, does it have to be a result of an automatic weapon? I mean, that’s a fallacy, right?” the governor said. “It could have been a handgun that had the same amount of carnage associated with the event.”
In an exclusive interview with Channel 13, Gov. Joe Lombardo says mental health services, not gun laws, should be the focus following the NYC mass shooting that killed four people. https://t.co/iqOnfA8WYa
— KTNV | Channel 13 News Las Vegas (@KTNV) August 1, 2025
Why This Matters to Conservatives
This case shows everything that’s wrong with how liberals think about crime and violence. Instead of looking at the real causes – mental illness, broken families, and a culture that doesn’t value life – they immediately blame the tools used by criminals.
Conservatives understand that evil exists in human hearts, not in pieces of metal and plastic. Governor Lombardo has already shown his commitment to Second Amendment rights by vetoing multiple anti-gun bills passed by Nevada’s Democrat-controlled legislature. He knows that taking rights away from good people won’t stop bad people from doing bad things.
The facts back this up. New York has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, yet shootings still happen there. Chicago has tough gun laws too, but it still has some of the highest murder rates in America. More laws don’t equal less crime.
The Mental Health Crisis Nobody Wants to Talk About
In Nevada, being placed on an emergency mental health crisis hold is not enough to prevent someone from buying a gun in the future. This isn’t because Nevada’s laws are weak. It’s because the system is designed to protect people’s rights unless a court officially declares them mentally incompetent.
Lombardo explained:
“People’s mental capacity, or defined mental capacity, has to be adjudicated by the court before law enforcement can become aware of it,”
This makes sense. We can’t take away constitutional rights just because someone had a bad day or sought help for depression.
But it also shows the challenge we face. How do we help troubled people while protecting everyone’s rights? The answer isn’t more gun laws. It’s better mental health care and early intervention.
Nevada already has a “red flag” law that Democrats passed during the 2019 legislative session. Former Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak signed the law despite strong opposition from Republicans and rural sheriffs. The law allows family members and law enforcement to ask a judge to temporarily take away someone’s guns if they seem dangerous.
Many conservative sheriffs refused to enforce Sisolak’s gun control laws. Eureka County Sheriff Jesse Watts wrote an angry letter to Sisolak, saying he would fight the red flag law “until there is no fight left in me.” Several rural counties even declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries” to protest the new restrictions.
This shows the difference between liberal politicians who rush to pass feel-good laws and conservatives who understand that real solutions take time and respect for constitutional rights.
What Conservatives Can Do
Governor Lombardo is already taking action. He signed Senate Bill 347, which allows police to temporarily take guns from people who are placed on 72-hour mental health holds. The guns are returned when the person is released, unless police get a court order. This balances public safety with constitutional rights.
We should also resist efforts to use tragedies like this to take away our rights. When politicians rush to pass new gun laws after a shooting, remind them that criminals don’t follow laws. The only people who suffer are law-abiding citizens.
Looking Ahead
This won’t be the last time liberal politicians try to blame conservatives and gun owners for the actions of violent criminals. They’ll keep pushing for more restrictions, more background checks, and more ways to make it harder for good people to protect themselves.
That’s why we need leaders like Joe Lombardo who understand that freedom comes with risks, but the answer to those risks isn’t less freedom. It’s addressing the real problems – mental illness, family breakdown, and a culture that doesn’t value life.
The next time someone tries to blame your state’s gun laws for violence somewhere else, remember this case. Remember that the problem wasn’t Nevada’s laws. The problem was a sick man who didn’t get help in time. And remember that taking rights away from millions of good people won’t bring back the four people who died in New York.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
