The State Where No One Can Get a Gun Right Now

Published on September 4, 2025
Duration: 8:34

This video from Washington Gun Law TV, featuring William Kirk, details how a ransomware cyber incident has caused a complete shutdown of Nevada's state background check system since August 24th. This outage effectively prevents all legal firearm purchases in the state, highlighting the vulnerability of state-specific systems and their impact on Second Amendment rights. A proposed legislative fix in Washington State (SB 5056) to allow FFLs to use the national NICS system during state downtime was not passed.

Quick Summary

Nevada's state background check system is completely down due to a ransomware cyber incident, preventing all legal firearm purchases since August 24th. This highlights the vulnerability of state-specific systems and their impact on Second Amendment rights, with no clear end date for restoration.

Chapters

  1. 00:00Introduction to Washington Gun Law TV
  2. 00:39State with no gun purchases currently
  3. 00:52Nevada's background check system outage
  4. 01:13Nevada's system details and impact
  5. 02:12Duration and extent of Nevada outage
  6. 03:17Ransomware attack details
  7. 04:14Impact on other state agencies
  8. 05:30Second Amendment implications in Nevada
  9. 05:42Washington's legislative response to outages
  10. 06:59Failure of Washington's proposed fix
  11. 07:30Warning about state background check systems
  12. 07:46Call to action and resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't people buy guns in Nevada right now?

Nevada's state background check system is currently down due to a ransomware cyber incident. This technical failure has halted all legal firearm purchases in the state since August 24th, effectively suspending Second Amendment rights.

What caused the Nevada firearm background check system outage?

The outage was caused by a ransomware-based cyber incident. This led to the isolation of the system for restoration efforts, and unfortunately, some personal data was exfiltrated during the attack.

When will Nevada's background check system be back online?

The Nevada state website indicates that recovery is in progress, but there is no clear end date for when the background check system will be fully restored. The state legislature, which meets biennially, will not convene again until 2027, delaying any legislative fixes.

Has a similar issue happened in other states, and what was the response?

Yes, Washington State experienced a similar outage. A bill, SB 5056, was proposed to allow FFLs to use the national NICS system during state downtime, but it never received a committee hearing, highlighting the challenges in implementing backup solutions.

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