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Writer's pictureSchuyler Windham
Apr 25, 20234 min read

Constitutional Carry (LB 77) Passes in Nebraska

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 25th, 2023


Lincoln, NE -- Nebraska becomes the 27th state to pass Constitutional Conceal Carry by a 33-14 vote. This bill recognizes the fundamental right of law-abiding adults to carry firearms for self-defense without having to navigate burdensome and costly government regulations. LB 77 also helps alleviate Nebraska's expensive criminal justice issues.


Every person has an inherent right to self-defense and deserves the opportunity to arm and protect themselves from violence when their life is endangered.


Governor Jim Pillen officially signed LB 77 into law at a signing ceremony today joined by the bill's introducer, Senator Tom Brewer among others. The bill was passed by a 33-14 vote in Nebraska's Unicameral legislature. The new policy will go into effect about 90 days from enactment.


LB 77, otherwise known as Constitutional Concealed Carry, eliminates the current requirements for Nebraska gun owners (age 21 and older) to receive permits and training to participate in concealed firearm carry. According to Nebraska Revised Statute 28-1202, carrying a concealed handgun without a permit has been classified as a Class I misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. LB 77 therefore also remedies a criminal justice issue as Nebraska jails and prisons are overburdened. Nebraskans who had valid permits but did not have them on their person have been arrested by police. One such case was a black veteran and mom who was arrested in front of her toddler for accidentally leaving her permit in a different purse. The vehicle she was riding in was originally pulled over by OPD for tinted windows.


The introducer of LB 77, Senator Tom Brewer, is an Army combat veteran who was shot several times during a firefight with the Taliban in 2003.


“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.”*


Senator Brewer will be speaking at the Seward County Libertarian Party's annual Liberty Fest on Saturday June 3rd (RSVP here).


Responsible gun owners prevent crimes from occurring in the first place and save lives when situations escalate according to FEE.org:

  • Guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year, or 6,849 every day. Most often, the gun is never fired, and no blood (including the criminal’s) is shed. A Center for Disease Control report ordered by President Obama in 2012 following the Sandy Hook Massacre, estimated that the number of crimes prevented by guns could be even higher—as many as 3 million annually, or some 8,200 every day.

  • Every year, 400,000 life-threatening violent crimes are prevented using firearms.

  • 60% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they knew the victim was armed. 40% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they thought the victim might be armed.

  • Felons report that they avoid entering houses where people are at home because they fear being shot.

  • Fewer than 1% of firearms are used in the commission of a crime.

While most laws and regulations surrounding pistols and firearms in Nebraska will remain the same, the licensure and training will no longer be required. States that have passed constitutional conceal carry have had a rise in people enrolling in permit courses and training according to research conducted by the bill's introducer. This is likely due to the fact that most states only have conceal carry reciprocity for permit holders. As individuals become comfortable carrying in their home state, they will seek permits so that they can legally carry in other states as well.

Every person deserves the opportunity to arm and protect themselves when they feel endangered. Conceal carry laws cause the greatest barriers for people in lower income levels and those whose lives are being threatened. The license and training costs are burdensome for families struggling to put food on the table. Nebraskans whose lives are threatened and need a defensive weapon short notice, such as domestic abuse survivors, cannot wait 2 months for a legal green light to conceal carry. Pistol purchase permits require background checks similar to the conceal carry permits, and are generally issued within 1 week of applying at the resident's county sheriff's office for a mere $5 fee.


Nebraska is already an Open Carry state, so open carry is allowed without a permit except in areas restricted by local government. Concealed carry is generally considered safer as open carry places a target on that person's back in an active shooter situation.


The Lancaster County Libertarian Party advocates that anyone who is responsible, willing, and able, to train with firearms and conceal carry whenever possible. A well-armed society is a polite and safe society.



*A case can be made that the previous conceal carry law was an unconstitutional infringement of our fundamental liberties under federal and state law.


The U.S. Constitution affirms the right to keep & bear arms in the 2nd Amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."


Nebraska affirms the right to self-defense in I-1. Statement of rights: "All persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied or infringed by the state or any subdivision thereof. To secure these rights, and the protection of property, governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."



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