Nebraska Legislature passes permitless concealed carry bill
BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 7 months ago
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska’s permitless concealed carry bill will be heading to Gov. Jim Pillen’s desk.
On Wednesday, state senators voted 33-14 to pass Legislative Bill 77, which would allow Nebraskans to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.
State Sen. Tom Brewer, who introduced the bill, says the measure guarantees the right to bear arms in Nebraska.
“What we do in this body sometimes is trying to follow through with the will of the people and give them the rights that they have in the Constitution,” Brewer said. “And sometimes we go out of the way and twist those rights and keep people from having them, and I think (the concealed carry permit) is a case of that.”In previous legislative sessions, Brewer has made the bill a top priority.
Early on in the final reading, State Sen. Jane Raybould filed a motion to place the measure back into the Judiciary Committee. That motion failed 5-40.
“This bill is not ready for us to pass or approve,” she said. “There is way too much at stake.”
Opponents of the bill, including Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins, have said the proposed law could put lives at risk.
“You have heard from law enforcement and the chiefs of police on how insistent they are to keep concealed carry permits in place for the protection of their officers and communities, and how important it is to kill this bill,” Raybould said.
Lincoln Police released a statement after the vote:
“The chief is disappointed in the legislature’s decision because the most important factor in making these decisions should be public safety and the men and women who serve our community.”
Of course the police are against it. Blood will run in the streets. Except it never happens. Someone ought to tell these idiots to put up or shut up, proving that blood will run in the streets based on other constitutional carry states. And notice that she puts the alleged safety of officers above constitutionally guaranteed rights. Of course she does.
Nebraska is already an open carry state, so they did this the right way. Florida is too scared of falling support for tourism to let that one go. The “only ones” are the only ones who can carry openly.
On April 20, 2023 at 7:40 am, PGF said:
I’m sure chief Teresa is disappointed but she can always shoot some citizen’s dog to feel better.
On April 20, 2023 at 10:05 am, Frank Clarke said:
“The “only ones” are the only ones who can carry openly.”
Under ordinary circumstances, yes, but when going to or coming from or engaging in hunting orfishing, open carry is allowed, until just recently with a state-issued concealed carry permit, but now always.
On April 20, 2023 at 11:00 am, xtphreak said:
@Frank Clarke
Are you referring to Florida with your comments on open carry?
“…until just recently with a state-issued concealed carry permit, but now always…”.
Because that was not my understanding, but hey … I was wrong once before.
On April 20, 2023 at 11:03 am, Herschel Smith said:
I’d have to look into this. Based on the experiences of “The Armed Fisherman,” I thought a permit was not needed to openly carry on the way to and from hunting and fishing.
But as I said, I’d have to look into it.
In any case, Fla. should have approved open carry all the time.
On April 20, 2023 at 11:19 am, PGF said:
I love the armed fishermen guys walking around in high foot traffic areas of FL. They open carry a firearm while having a fishing pole in one hand. It’s hilarious. The police, in the videos of them, are less amused.
On April 20, 2023 at 11:21 am, PGF said:
PS, the intent of that law was Gator fishing which requires ready access to a handgun for dispatching the animal humanly. Malicious Compliance always makes me smile.
On April 20, 2023 at 11:28 am, J said:
I’m shocked that some po lice chief resents citizens having guns on their persons…blood will run in the streets. She needs to be fired immediately as she doesn’t understand or uphold any basic laws of this land.
On April 21, 2023 at 3:17 am, Rick said:
Them who are willing to shoot a cop do not care if there are even stringent laws requiring a permit. Once again, the very definition of a criminal is they operate outside of the law; they care not a whit about permitting. The only law the criminal might be concerned for is that which carries severe penalty. Even then it is only speculative, especially with soft on crime DAs even involving habitual violent criminals.
The police chief and all such others need a better sob story. Even then, the preservation of my life is more important to me than some hypothetical cop catching a hypothetical bullet allegedly because said criminal no longer is required to be permitted by the state. Assuming fact not in evidence.
On April 21, 2023 at 3:23 am, Rick said:
More likely is cops will approach citizens as if they are armed (which they probably should). But with permitless, cops may feel more compelled to be hair triggered. This is to argue that cops now become more dangerous to the citizenry. This is only y opinion, unsupported by factual data, or even anecdote.