Concealed-weapons bill makes comeback
Citizens could carry handguns if they pass background check, complete safety class
By Brian Carlson
Staff writer
After stalling in the last legislative
session, a bill allowing law-abiding
citizens to carry concealed weapons
is likely to pass in 1999, lawmakers
said.
LB476, sponsored this year by
Sen. Ray Janssen of Nickerson,
would allow citizens to obtain permits
for carrying concealed weapons if
they passed background checks of
criminal and mental health records
and completed gun safety training.
A similar bill, introduced by Sen.
Stan Schellpeper of Stanton in 1997,
fell short of passage last year. As the
1998 Legislature drew to a close, the
bill was dropped when it became
clear Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha
would use all the allotted debate time
to filibuster and block the bill.
“I think it would have passed last
year, but we ran out of time,” Janssen
said.
Lynne McNally, a legislative aide
to Janssen, said proponents’ priority
this year is to get the bill onto the floor
early to avoid last year’s problems.
“Getting to it sooner is the key,”
she said. “Support is heavy for the
bill, and we definitely have the 25
votes to pass it.”
As of Thursday, eight senators had
signed on to the bill. The Judiciary
Committee had not yet scheduled a
hearing on LB476.
Nebraska is one of seven states
that has not passed some form of leg
islation allowing concealed weapons
permits.
Janssen said he supported the bill
because it would allow the state to
better regulate handguns. It would
also allow responsible citizens to
defend themselves against attack, he
said.
For example, he said people who
traveled to and from work through
dangerous, poorly lit areas should
have a means of defending them
selves.
The bill provides sufficient safe
guards to ensure that dangerous citi
zens do not obtain concealed
weapons permits, Janssen said.
“You don’t just go get a concealed
weapon permit,” he said. “There are a
lot of hoops you have to jump through
before you can even come close to
getting one.”
Opponents such as Sen. Chris
Beutler of Lincoln said they believed
the bill would create more problems
than it solved.
Although some studies, most
notably one by John Lott of the
University of Chicago Law School,
have indicated crime has dropped in
areas allowing concealed weapons
permits, Beutler called this evidence
“inconclusive.”
Even if a concealed-weapons law
caused a small drop in crime rates, he
said, other factors could negate its
benefits.
Beutler said he was concerned
passage of the bill could lead to a pro
liferation of handguns, increasing the
possibility of violent crime. He also
said the permit requirements might
not be foolproof.
Most importantly, Beutler said, a
concealed-weapons law could lead to
an increase in the number of “crimes
of passion.” Domestic disputes or
“road rage” could escalate into vio
lent confrontations that could be
avoided if a gun were unavailable, he
said.
“When good people lose control -
and good people do lose control occa
sionally - if a gun is available, it
might be available at just the wrong
instant in time,” he said.
Although Beutler said he had not
counted votes to see if it would be
possible to block the bill, he was
resigned to its likelihood of passage.
“Barring a change in attitudes, I
believe the bill will be passed in some
form this year,” he said.
Although some law enforcement
officials have expressed concern
about LB476, Janssen and McNally
said the bill was restrictive enough to
ensure concealed handguns do not get
out of control and threaten law
enforcement officers’ lives.
“We’re always concerned about
keeping law enforcement safe,”
McNally said. But concerns among
some law enforcement officials “may
be about something that won’t come
to fruition,” she said.
Confident of the bill’s passage,
McNally said supporters would try to
push the bill quickly.
“We’ve got all our ducks in a row,
and we hope to have more success this
year than last year.”
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Body shop catches fire;
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By Josh Funk
Senior staff writer
Quick response helped limit the
damage caused in a downtown body
shop fire Thursday.
The second-floor body shop in
Duteau Chevrolet quickly filled with
thick black smoke after a car started
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“I heard an explosion from
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Wojtasek said the explosion
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When the fire started, many of the
Duteau employees were having lunch
on the opposite side of the second
floor, Wojtasek said.
They heard some strange noises,
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It took firefighters half an hour to
control the fire after knocking down
the initial flames, though much of
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from the building and looking for
other fires.
Traffic was disrupted for 30 min
utes on O and P streets to accommo
date fire hoses; but there was no
structural damage, and business
resumed after the smoke cleared.
The fire inspector investigating
the cause of the fire could not be
reached Thursday.
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