As the legislative sessions across the Mountain West wind down, lawmakers are debating several controversial gun bills 鈥� with very different aims.
Two bills in New Mexico, and , call for a two-week waiting period before a gun purchase. And in Colorado, lawmakers are a three-day waiting period. Similar bills in Utah, and , failed this session.
George Mocsary heads the new housed in the University of Wyoming College of Law.
鈥淲aiting lists are problematic for a couple of reasons," he said. "One: just the notion that a right delayed is a right denied.鈥�
He also referenced a that says waiting periods may reduce total suicides because suicide by firearm is more likely to be fatal compared to other methods.
According to the study, 鈥渟till, for some individuals, waiting periods may serve only to delay suicides rather than prevent them.鈥�
Lisa Geller, the director of state affairs for the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, said in a previous interview with the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau that she was encouraged to see states considering waiting periods.
鈥淚f we put time and space between an individual who is suicidal and the weapon itself there are significant reductions in suicide, because firearms are the mostly lethal means of suicide,鈥� she said.
Meanwhile, a new in Wyoming clarifies state preemption of local firearms regulations, precluding municipalities from enacting gun restrictions.
And in Idaho, a bill that would is advancing.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
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