Permitless Concealed Carry Bill Blocked by Filibuster

A proposal to allow people to carry concealed guns without the permit that’s currently required was blocked today/Monday in the Legislature. And senators trimmed back several proposals in an attempt to reduce a deficit projected for the future.

Currently, Nebraska law requires people who want to carry concealed guns to apply for a permit from the State Patrol and take a training course. Sen. Tom Brewer wants to drop those requirements, arguing people shouldn’t have to pay hundreds of dollars and undergo training simply to exercise their constitutional rights under the Second Amendment.

Opponents of the proposal argue that abolishing the current requirements would endanger public safety. At a public hearing, those opponents included the Omaha police department and police union, who said it would take away their ability to fight gun violence and gangs.

So Brewer proposed an amendment to allow Omaha to continue its gun registration requirements, maintain a list of crimes during which carrying a concealed weapon would still be a separate offense, and make failure to disclose to law enforcement that you are carrying a concealed weapon for a third time a felony.

That amendment neutralized the opposition of Omaha police and their union. But it alienated both progressives, who argued it would enable police to continue targeting African Americans in the name of combatting gang violence, and conservatives, who opposed creating a patchwork of laws that differed from place to place.

When senators voted on the proposed amendment Monday, they defeated it on a vote of 29-13.

As the bill was being debated Monday, Sen. Megan Hunt criticized it for appealing to people she said wanted to role-play as if they were law enforcement. And Hunt, who’s white, said race was a factor.

“I don’t know the reason we should be encouraging vigilantism. I want to note that that’s only ever applied to white people. And I also question the need to just have a gun all the time anyway,” Hunt said.

But Brewer, who’s native American, suggested gun control laws themselves were racially motivated against Native Americans and Blacks.

“The reason why gun laws were made in the first place were people like Sen. Wayne and myself’s descendants. (It) wasn’t because rich white people wanted to keep themselves from having guns,” Brewer said.

Brewer also predicted there would be political backlash if his bill were defeated.

“We may not be able to convince folks here, and this bill may die. But I believe there will be new faces next year, and I believe this vote will help us to shape a lot of new faces. And when we do that, we’re going to get a chance to go back at this law again,” he said.

Sen. Adam Morfeld, who’s being forced out by term limits, acknowledged that possibility, but said it wouldn’t affect his opposition.

“That might very well be the case. There might be a bunch of folks that want to come here and vote against law enforcement and support a bill like this. But the bottom line is we are here and now, and this is what is facing us now, and if I can continue to keep Nebraskans safe by having commonsense training and background check requirements for the next year or so, then it’s worth defeating the bill now. And if you have the votes next year, then so be it. But I’ve done my job now,” Morfeld said.

Brewer said while the bill would do away with training requirements, background checks would still be required to purchase guns.

With opponents filibustering against the bill, Brewer moved to cut off debate and reach a vote. That motion attracted 31 votes, with nine senators voting against it, six passing, and three excused and not voting. With 33 votes required for cloture, the motion failed, killing the bill for this year.

Also Monday, senators voted to trim back three bills with an eye to reducing future projected deficits. Sen. John Stinner explained the rationale, linking it to the “outyear,” or the second year of the next two-year budget period.

“If you just look at this year, we’ve got plenty of money this year. But that would be ignoring what we’ve done in terms of some of the tax legislation that grows over the period of time. So what I’m focused on, and what I think everybody here should be focused on is that outyear, the second year of the outyear, that shows $313 million deficit. And what we’re trying to do is take that deficit of 313 (million) down to $100 million, so that we can reestablish structural balance as we go on out,” Stinner said.

Budget projections show that by the end of fiscal year 2024, the state would be $313.8 million below the 3 percent reserve the law requires it to maintain. That reserve is like a minimum balance in a checking account. It’s separate from the state’s cash reserve, which is like a savings account, and is currently projected to contain $1.3 billion. Both projections assume 0 percent revenue growth for the next two years, compared to the 4.5 percent historical average in recent decades. Stinner has argued for using 0 percent to reflect uncertainty when current federal stimulus measures wear off.

Senators voted to reduce $10 million of sales tax benefits over the next three years for convention centers, around $30 million for sales tax exemptions on construction projects, and $45 million in subsidies for rural economic development. They then gave the proposals second-round approval on a voice vote.