Las Vegas Gun Laws and How They Compare to Other American Cities, States

Though slightly more restrictive than the rest of Nevada, Las Vegas gun laws are still quite gun owner-friendly compared to those of other American cities.

For the most part, Las Vegas is bound by Nevada gun laws, which don’t do much binding: Nevada doesn’t require gun registration or background checks, though the latter are optional under state law, and if you meet the requirements, the county sheriff will issue a concealed-carry permit. The permit is good for five years, covering all the guns you already have when you get the permit and any guns you buy while permitted.

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In metropolitan Las Vegas, though, residents have to register any firearm capable of being concealed (defined by state law as one with a barrel shorter than 12 inches). There’s no fee. However, there are grace periods that can have the effect of protecting gun owners visiting or traveling through Las Vegas.

Here's how Las Vegas gun laws compare to gun laws in other states and cities:

NEW YORK AND NEW YORK CITY
According to the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, you must have either a city handgun license or a state handgun license with a special permit from the city police commissioner, and the city doesn’t automatically recognize a state handgun license. Shotguns or rifles are legal, but it can’t be loaded in public. In New York in general, the idea is to make the possession of handguns and assault weapons illegal and then provide exceptions that an accused shooter can raise as “affirmative defenses” if prosecuted. Many cities and counties such as Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester, Suffolk County and Yonkers, impose their own requirements on the possession, registration and transportation of firearms.

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CHICAGO
Chicago gun laws are called among the strictest in the nation. It wasn’t until July 2013 that Illinois allowed its residents the right to carry concealed handguns, the last state in the nation to do so.

TEXAS
If you thought Texas was a gun-friendly state, you’d be right — and wrong. While there’s a movement in the state Senate to allow concealed-carry on college campuses and guns to be openly carried elsewhere, those who think of the Lone Star State as the home of the six-shooter might be surprised to discover it’s against the law to carry a handgun outside of your own premises unless you’re involved in a “hunting, fishing or other sporting activity,” and the type of gun you’re carrying is commonly used in that activity. Long guns may be carried in public in a “non-threatening manner.”

CALIFORNIA
The Golden State doesn’t make it easy to own a gun. In fact, Nevada is a common destination for the neighbors next door looking to get a gun. California’s gun laws among the strictest in the nation, with a concealed-carry permit seeker having to demonstrate “good moral character” and “good cause” for wanting one.

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