Nebraska Introduces Constitutional Carry

Col. (retired)  Tom Brewer, Nebraska State Senator

Nebraska has a Constitutional Carry bill that has been introduced in 2017. It is Legislative Bill 502(pdf). The bill was introduced by Senator Brewer, and was heard in committee on March 23rd. No action was taken at that time.  From omaha.com:

The committee took no action Thursday on Legislative Bill 502. Because the bill does not have a priority designation, it likely would not be scheduled for debate this year even if the committee decides to advance it to the floor.

State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon introduced the bill, saying he believes that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. He cited federal court decisions that recognized the rights of individuals to keep firearms for self-defense.

“How is it that the government thinks it can give permission to somebody for a right that’s already guaranteed under the Constitution?” Brewer asked.

Nebraska joins several other states have legislation introduced or in process.  Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, South Carolina,Texas, Virgina, Utah, and Wisconsin are all considering Constitutional carry. That list may increase as the year progresses. A bill in Kentucky appears to be dead for this year.

Montana passed a "permitless" carry bill for the third time this year. The bill would have extended "permitless" carry to the 1% of the state where a permit is required, but it was vetoed for a second time by Governor Bullock. A Constitutional Carry bill was vetoed for the second time by South Dakota Governor Daugaard.

New Hampshire and North Dakota have passed Constitutional Carry bills in 2017.

 The Nebraska legislature is unique in that it is unicameral and nonpartisan. Members do not run on party tickets.

The current governor of Nebraska is Pet Ricketts, a Republican. Governor Ricketts is on the record as strongly supporting the Second Amendment and the right to carry concealed guns.  Governor Ricketts criticized President Obama's gun control efforts in 2016.

It seems likely that Governor Ricketts would sign a Constitutional Carry bill if it passed Nebraska's unicameral legislature.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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