A Las Vegas assemblyman wants Nevada courts to strip firearms from domestic violence respondents when a protection order is issued, rather than only after a later hearing. Assemblyman David Orentlicher, who represents Assembly District 20 in Clark County, says the gap in current law is costing lives, pointing to 20 domestic violence homicides reported in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s jurisdiction as of September 13, up from 16 at the same point in 2025.
Orentlicher, an attorney and professor at UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law, plans to introduce legislation requiring firearm surrender under both temporary and extended domestic violence protection orders, according to KSNV. He said current Nevada law does not go far enough to protect victims. Under existing statute, a temporary protection order — which can last up to 45 days and may be granted with or without notice to the accused — does not automatically require firearm surrender or block new gun purchases, the station reports.
An extended protection order, which requires notice and a hearing and can last up to two years, already bars the subject from buying or acquiring firearms while it is in effect. But whether that person must actually hand over guns already in their possession remains up to a judge’s discretion, weighing factors like documented abuse history, firearm threats, or prior use of a weapon in a crime, per the same account.
Closing What Orentlicher Calls a Dangerous Gap
Orentlicher wants to add firearm surrender requirements to temporary orders and make surrender automatic once an extended order is granted. He said the proposal should apply to both types of orders, arguing that stronger firearm restrictions could reduce deadly violence in domestic violence cases. “The proposed restrictions work and will save lives,” he said, according to the station’s report…