Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval came out firmly on the side of Nevada gun owners by opposing Nevada’s Question 1, which would mandate background checks.

The anti-gun effort is being financed from out of the state by New York City billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

Via AP:

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval came out against a background check initiative supported by gun control advocates on the November ballot, saying Thursday it would “unnecessarily restrict rights of law-abiding Nevadans.”

“The governor does not support Question 1,” Sandoval spokeswoman Mari St. Martin said in a statement. It said Sandoval wasn’t satisfied the measure addressed “the complex issue of keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals.”

The declaration from the Republican governor, who was a state attorney general and federal judge before being elected in 2010, drew praise from the National Rifle Association and criticism from initiative supporters in a state where the two sides cast the question before voters in starkly different terms.