Policy
In 2019, the Nevada Legislature passed the Orders for Protection Against High-Risk Behavior designed to prevent potential gun violence by temporarily removing firearms from individuals deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. Family or household members and law enforcement can ask the court for the removal of firearms from an individual in crisis by granting an order of protection for high-risk behavior, or “high-risk protection order.”
The Orders for Protection Against High-Risk Behavior Law include legal safeguards to protect individual rights, and to ensure that any firearm removal is conducted lawfully and with due process.
The removal of any firearm is temporary and has been demonstrated to save lives when someone is in crisis or presents an imminent threat to themselves or others. Twenty-two states across the United States have implemented similar laws.
What is a High-Risk Protection Order?
A high-risk protection order is a civil court order. It temporarily prohibits a person who is behaving dangerously or presents a high risk of harm to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing firearms.
In Nevada, members of the person’s family, household members, and law enforcement officers may petition the court for a high-risk protection order.
If granted, the protection order requires the person to turn over their firearms to law enforcement or an individual designated by the court. The person must surrender any permit to carry a firearm.
There are two types of orders:
- An ex parte order (ex parte means a situation where a legal decision is made by a judge after hearing only one party's argument for action on the issue before the court, as opposed to both parties arguing their side of the case). This order is in effect for up to seven days or until an extended order hearing is requested by the person asking for the order.
- An extended order, which is in effect for up to a year. At the request of the petitioner (the person asking for the order), the court may terminate the order early or renew it.
Background on the Law
Nevada legislators proposed the Orders for Protection Against High Risk Behavior following the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, where a gunman killed 60 and wounded at least 413 people attending a concert—the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
AB 291, also known as the “1 October bill”, was sponsored by a Route 91 shooting survivor, Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui. The 1 October bill included Nevada’s Order for Protection Against High-Risk Behavior.
The law went into effect on January 1, 2020, and details are included in the Nevada Revised Statutes.
What types of behavior are considered “high-risk?”
High-risk behavior occurs when an individual:
- Uses, attempts to use, or threatens the use of physical force against themselves or another person.
- Communicates an imminent threat of violence to themselves or others.
- Commits an act of violence directed toward himself or herself or another person.
- Engages in a pattern of threats of violence or acts of violence against himself or herself or another person, including threats of violence or acts of violence that have caused another person to be in reasonable fear of physical harm.
- Exhibits conduct in which a law enforcement officer reasonably determines presents a serious and imminent threat to the safety of the public.
- Engages in conduct that presents a danger to himself or herself or another person while in possession, custody, or control of a firearm; or when purchasing or acquiring a firearm.
- Abuses a controlled substance or alcohol while engaging in high-risk behavior as described in this section.
- Acquires a firearm or other deadly weapon within the immediately preceding 6 months before the person otherwise engages in high-risk behavior as described above.
How Does The Process Work?
The following steps make up the process for obtaining, terminating, or renewing a high-risk protection order:
Law Enforcement is Contacted
A person concerned abou the high-risk behavior of another notifies the local police or sheriff's office.
Petition is Files in Court
Petitioner applies fr an order of protection, describing why an individual poses a risk of causing personal injury to self or others by possessing, having custody of, or by purchasing/acquiring a firearm.
Copy of Petition is Served to Individual of Concern
A sheriff or person designated by the court serves the individual with a copy of the petitin for an Extended Order for Protection Against High-Risk Behavior, and a notice of a court hearing.
Court Hearing is Conducted, Judge Issues Order of Protection
The court issues an Extended Order if it finds, by clear and convincing evidence, the respondent poses a risk of causing injury to self or others by possessing, having custody or control of, or by purchasing or otherwise aquiring any firearm, has engaged in high-risk behavior, and less restrictive options have been exhausted or are not effective.
Order is Presented to the Individual of Concern
If the individual is present at the hearing, they receive the Extended Order while in court. If the individual is not present, law enforcemen officers personally serve the order.
Individual Surrenders Firearms
Immediately upon service of he order, the individual surrenders any fireaarm in their possession, custody, or control to law enforcement or a person designated by the court. The indivdual also surrenders any concealed carry weapon permit. Removal of firearms remains in effect for the duration of the order.
Background Check System is Updated
After an Extended Order for Protetion Against High-Risk Behavior is issued, the court submits a copy to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History and sends a copy to the Nevada Attorney General.
Order is Terminated or Renewed
The person asking for the order, or the individual that was served the order, may request that it be terminated. Not less than 3 months before the order's expiration, the petitioner may request that it be renewed for up to 1 year.
If Order is Terminated, Background Check System is Updated
If the order is no longer in effect, the individual who surrendered their firearms maay petition the court for an order declaring that the basis for the extended order no longer exists. If the petition is granted, the court transmits the petition to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History to remove the order fromt he individual's record.
Upon Termination, Firearms are Returned
Law enforcement returns any surrendered firearms to the respondent no more than 14 days after the dissolution of the Extended Order and after confirming the respondent may lawfully own or possess a firearm.
In-Person Training
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do high-risk laws violate due-process protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution?
Nevada’s Orders for Protection Against High-Risk Behavior law, which allows a judge to temporarily remove a person’s access to guns when there is evidence that they pose a serious risk to themselves or others, protects individual rights and ensures the due process protections set by the United States Supreme Court. Due process protections ensure that everyone is treated fairly and justly by the legal system, and that no one is deprived of their rights without proper legal procedures being followed.
A person’s firearm cannot be taken away, even temporarily, unless a judge reviews the request, and find that there is a credible and imminent risk of potential gun violence. After reviewing the basis of the request for an Order of Protection Against High-Risk Behavior and finding that an individual poses an imminent threat to themselves or others, the judge may issue an emergency short-term order. After notifying the individual who is found to be at risk of violence (the respondent), the judge must hold a hearing no later than seven calendar days before issuing a final order. If the respondent feels the Order is not warranted, they are able to challenge any evidence and make their case as to why an Order should not be issued. Orders entered after a full hearing have a limited duration (up to one year) and can only be extended if the court holds another hearing. Case law shows that high-risk laws have withstood, and will continue to withstand, due process challenges; for example, an appeals court in Florida upheld Florida’s law in the face of a constitutional due process challenge.
2. Is there any evidence that high-risk protection orders have prevented gun deaths?
Yes. Research being conducted across the country demonstrates the effectiveness of these laws at preventing gun violence. A study in Connecticut (the first state to enact a high-risk law) found that the law reduced suicides by gun in that state. Indiana saw a 7.5-percent reduction in its firearm suicide rate in the 10 years following the enactment of its law. In Seattle, the City Attorney’s office stated that protection orders have been effective in preventing access to firearms by students threatening violence to themselves, their schools, and other students.
3. Since Nevada’s law was enacted in 2020, how many high-risk protection orders have been issued?
High-Risk Protection Orders Issued
| Year |
Orders Issued |
| 2023 |
20 |
| 2024 |
18 (so far) |
4. Aren’t other protections already in place that work just as well?
Nevada’s law specifically stipulates that one of the requirements for issuing an order is demonstrating that less restrictive options, such as mental health counseling, intervention by a social services caseworker, anger management or substance abuse treatment, and offering options for out-of-home weapons storage, have been exhausted or have not been effective.
5. Is there potential that the law will be abused by disgruntled or vengeful family members, neighbors, romantic partners, etc.?
Nevada’s law prohibits petitioners from filing an application for a high-risk protection order that contains false or misleading information, or with the intent to harass another person. Any person who violates this provision of the law is guilty of a misdemeanor.
6. How can Nevada residents request a high-risk protection order?
The process to apply for an order of protection is described here.