As of September 10, 2023, Nebraska no longer requires individuals 21 or older to obtain a concealed carry permit, background check or safety training to carry loaded guns in public.
Gov. Jim Pillen signed LB 77 Constitutional Carry into Nebraska law and as of September 10, the bill is in full effect. Law abiding citizens of Nebraska 21 years of age or older are now able to carry concealed handguns without a permit, among other eased restrictions.
“We don’t want to be doing this,” Omaha City Council President Pete Festersen said. “It’s required by the new law.”
LB 77 has long been debated, but now Nebraska is feeling the effects of its passing. Omaha, in particular. Previously, Omaha required anyone within city limits that obtaine a handgun to register it at the police department. As of September 10, this is no longer necessary.
One benefit of Omaha’s gun registration ordinance was the use of the registry to track stolen guns.
According to WOWT, Omaha formerly had about a dozen ordinances that protected who could have a concealed carry permit, with many of them founded on drug charges and domestic violence arrests. As of September 10, these ordinances have been repealed.
City Council members voted to repeal 22 city codes in order to be in compliance with the new state law.
According to KETV, when Festersen was asked if he felt forced to vote against the best interests of the people, he said, “Definitely. It’s my opinion that the city should not be getting repealed or having to do this, unfortunately. And that’s why we opposed LB 77”
Those who can legally buy a gun (18-years-old for rifles and shotguns, 21-years-old for handguns) will no longer be required to take a gun safety class. Individuals that have been currently charged with carrying a concealed weapon will have those charges dropped as of September 10. KETV, local Omaha news station, said that there are between 50 and 100 of these cases.
In order to receive a permit to carry a concealed handgun, an applicant must be 21, have proof of training and possess sufficient eyesight. Applicants must not have pled guilty, no contest to, or have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, not found mentally ill and dangerous, not have violated any laws related to firearms, unlawful use of a weapon, or controlled substances, and not be on parole, probation, or house arrest.
Nebraska requires applicants seeking concealed handgun permits to complete a handgun training and safety course. The minimum requirements include knowledge and safe handling of a handgun, handgun ammunition, safe handgun shooting fundamentals, a demonstration of minimum safety and training competency with a handgun, knowledge of federal, state, and local laws pertaining to handgun use, knowledge of ways to avoid a criminal attack and to defuse or control a violent confrontation, and knowledge of proper storage practices for handguns and ammunition.
Since Nebraska no longer requires concealed handgun permits, none of this training is required. Nebraskans can freely walk about with a handgun without knowing basic handling instructions. We’re letting people out on the streets without any training in defusing a violent confrontation and expecting violent confrontations not to escalate?
Let’s take a look at our police system. Officers are trained for an average of 21 weeks and are taught firearm training and de-escalation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistic, out of over 100 countries, the U.S. has the lowest training hours required. Firearm training, on average, is given 71 hours against 21 hours of de-escalation training (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics).
Even with these hours of training, American police kill civilians at incredibly high rates. In fact, “Police in the U.S. kill people at a rate at least three times higher than Canadian police do and at least 60 times the rate of police in England and Wales.” (policebrutalitycenter.org)
If the men and women whose lives are dedicated to firearm training and controlling unruly situations are killing at an unprecedented rate, what do we think will happen when we give easier gun access to untrained individuals?
We are expecting loaded and untrained 21-year-olds to accurately assess a violent situation. We are putting our faith in unqualified individuals to not only make the right decision, but to make the right decision at a point of extreme fear and confusion. Our lives are in their hands now.
