The Buck Stops There ( @GovSandoval's Office, That Is).

Wow. That was fast. Just this morning, we witnessed the Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing for SB 221, Senator Justin Jones' (D-Enterprise) gun safety bill. And not too long after the hearing, some Carson City gossip hounds and pot stirrers were already declaring the bill "dead on arrival". It also didn't help that Governor Brian Sandoval (R-NRA) began hinting at "The V Word".

Then, all of a sudden, we saw this.

.@GovSandoval on GOP gun alternative: "I want to commend Senator Roberson for his attention to this important issue..." #nvleg #choreography

Remember when Senator Michael Roberson (R-NRA) pulled this stunt last week?

We even saw poison pill amendments, including one from Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson making the background checks provision voluntary instead of mandatory. Ummm, hello... Will anyone trying to purchase firearms and ammunition for nefarious, criminal purposes voluntarily submit to a background check? File that in the "Totally Defeats the Purpose" Department.

What was once Senator Roberson's proposed poison pill amendment to SB 221 now has its own bill number: SB 520. And seriously, Senator Roberson and Governor Sandoval may be inhaling a bit too much 420 (without even waiting to pass SB 374 into law!) if they think this act of political convenience can magically make Nevada's gun violence problems go away.

Funny enough, several of the 21st Century Know Nothings who testified against SB 221 this morning railed against the mental health portion of the bill along with the universal background checks provision. And that's not the first time this has occurred. (Thanks for the reminder, Senator Debbie Smith [D-Sparks].) Yet all of a sudden, Senator Roberson and Governor Sandoval are champions of better mental health care? I wonder what James Flavy Coy Brown, Monica, and/or any other mental health patient dumping victims have to say about that!

We all know what this is truly about: Governor Sandoval wants to remain in the gun lobby's good graces, yet he also wants the appearance of "doing something on gun safety". So all of a sudden, his "new old BFF" Senator Roberson has all too conveniently dropped SB 520 at the very last minute. Governor Sandoval can (once again) have his political cake and eat it, too!

Or can he? Senator Jones refuses to let his bill go down without a fight.

.@Jones4Nevada says he won't strip out background checks provision to get bill passed. Says leadership in Assem. will move it. #nvleg

And as long as the Assembly passes SB 221 within the next six days, the bill will still reach Governor Sandoval's desk. And ultimately, the buck will stop with him. So is there any wonder as to why he and Senator Roberson are desperately trying to pass the buck now? And would they really be doing this if they didn't believe 86% of Nevadans support Senator Jones' bill?