Nevada High Court Rules Guv Gun Records Open to Public Scrutiny

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Siding unanimously with The Reno-Gazette Journal, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled concealed weapon permit records of lame-duck Gov. Jim Gibbons are accessible under Nevada's Public Records Law [NRS 239.010].

The 14-page ruling by Nevada's High Court said  Washoe County District Court Judge Janet Berry wrongly decided the records involving the alleged improper handling of Gibbons' permit were not subject to the Public Records Law.  The Supreme Court distinguished that weapons permit applications are confidential, but that an applicant's identity or any records of a subsequent inquiry, suspension or revocation are not.

The Supreme Court ordered Judge Berry to redact any confidential information before releasing the records to the Gazette-Journal, which sued County Sheriff Mike Haley in 2008 to obtain the governor's post-permit documents. Gov. Gibbons  gave up his concealed weapons permit, ceding that he had not completed the requisite training for his nine pistols, although he signed  an application saying he had.

The incumbent Gibbons' reelection efforts were derailed in June when he lost the GOP primary. Goes to show that even without nine pistols, one can still shoot oneself in the foot.