Can judge force Sandoval into action on gun background checks?

A lawsuit over Nevada’s 2016 ballot question on expanded background checks for firearms purchases boiled down to a central question during a hearing this week on motions related to the case.

Can a judge put words in a governor’s mouth?

An attorney representing Nevadans for Background Checks told Clark County District Judge Joe Hardy Jr. that the answer was yes, if the governor failed to perform his duty to see that the laws of the state were faithfully executed.

The attorney, Mark Ferrario, said Gov. Brian Sandoval had failed to fulfill his obligation to Nevadans in promulgating the ballot question. He said Sandoval, who along with Attorney General Adam Laxalt is the target of the lawsuit, hadn’t worked enough with federal authorities to get the background checks underway.

“You can’t half-bake it,” Ferrario said of Sandoval. “What the governor did here was not enough.”

At issue is a provision in the ballot question calling for the feds to conduct the new checks, which would apply to sales of firearms among individuals who don’t have federal gun dealer licenses. Under pre-existing law, the requirement for background checks applied only to sales involving licensed dealers, and those were conducted by the state.

The provision regarding federal authorities has delayed implementation of the ballot measure, as state officials said the FBI refused to conduct the new checks.