Week of June 19, 2024
From the editor’s desk
When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Trump-era ban on bump stocks—the devices that modify a semiautomatic rifle to shoot almost as quickly as a machine gun—the news hit particularly hard in Nevada.
Memories of the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas are still fresh in our minds. Sixty people were killed that day. More than 400 people were injured in the shooting, and 400 others were hurt in the ensuing chaos. The shooter used a bump stock that allowed him to shoot 1,000 rounds in 11 minutes.
Nevada politicians joined the conversation quickly.
On June 14, the day of the Supreme Court ruling, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto issued a statement opposing the ruling and calling on Congress to make bump stocks illegal again.
The same day, the Reno Gazette-Journal published this reaction from Gov. Joe Lombardo: “While I have always been a supporter of the Second Amendment, I have been a vocal opponent of bump stocks since my time in law enforcement, and I’m disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision today.”
On June 17, Sen. Jacky Rosen announced that she’d joined a bipartisan bill that aims to ban bump stocks nationally.
Yesterday, June 18, Rosen issued a statement that reads, in part, “My community, my city, my state were forever changed on 1 October, and saying that banning bump stocks solves ‘a fake’ problem is disgraceful and offensive. … For us, the carnage created by bump stocks is very real.”
We’ll keep a close eye on what happens next. Meanwhile, here’s one important thing to know—while the Supreme Court decision allows for bump stocks to be sold nationally, they still cannot be sold legally in Nevada. They were banned here in 2019, during the first legislative session after the 2017 shooting. That state law is still in effect.
In other news: We’ve tallied the results of first-round voting, and we have announced the finalists in the Best of Northern Nevada poll. You can now vote in the final round. Visit the Final Round Ballot and vote for the people and places you think make Northern Nevada a great place to live. We’re excited to share the results with you in our September print edition of the RN&R, and at RenoNR.com on Aug. 3o.
Take care,
—Kris Vagner, managing editor
From the RN&R
A place to hang out: The monthly Vinyl Pick-Nic event embraces the power of music through records and community
By Matt King
June 13, 2024
KNVC DJ Will Houk is holding monthly vinyl listening parties, where you can choose from his albums or bring your own.
A phone that does less: As young users develop an appetite for “dumbphones,” a Reno startup designs an operating system to power them
By Matt Westfield
June 14, 2024
Two University of Nevada, Reno, graduates—Austin Boer and Brennan Jordan—are the founders of SLEKE., a company that makes a smartphone operating system built for productivity, convenience and taking back our active lives.
Humor and heart: ‘Inside Out 2’ is a much-needed return to form for Pixar
By Bob Grimm
June 19, 2024
Inside Out 2 cleverly has a field day with all of the emotions that come in waves with a teen going through puberty.
Body language: Across mediums and decades, Candace Garlock holds a mirror to the symbolism of the human body
By Chris Lanier
June 19, 2024
Candace Garlock isn’t the sort of artist who enjoys rubbing people’s noses in things just to get a reaction, but when her interests steer her toward taboo areas, she pushes forward, undeterred.
A great actor who was funny: ‘Remembering Gene Wilder’ offers a fantastic look at the life of a legend
By Bob Grimm
June 19, 2024
Director Ron Frank successfully conveys, with the help of Gene Wilder himself, just how nuanced and precise of a comic actor Wilder really was.
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