Despite arguments from several Second Amendment advocates present at the meeting, members passed resolutions to ban unfinished firearm parts within the city. Further, the council threw its weight behind Mayor Jean Stothert’s contentious executive order banning possession of firearms on all city property.
Omaha leaders pushed a decision on prohibiting bump stocks in the city to later.
Nebraska’s preemption and constitutional carry law went into effect on Sept. 2, but the mayor and city officials had already acted in defiance of the decree.
Stothert’s executive order preceded the implementation of the Nebraska laws by three days. It was clearly intended to fight back against the state’s legal authority over local governments to preempt restrictive laws that counter the wishes of Nebraska’s leaders and the voters.
Omaha’s new sweeping “gun-free” zones are yet another infringement on the rights of gun owners to protect themselves from violent criminals. With the executive order, only the lawless will parade about on city property carrying firearms.
This presents a clear and present danger to the law-abiding public that Stothert and the city council simply brushed aside.
As for banning kits in the city, private gunsmithing has been enjoyed since before the U.S. was even a country. This is yet another blow to Second Amendment rights by misguided politicians looking to score points with their base.
The narrow 4-3 vote prohibited unfinished frames and receivers. Already, State Sen. Mike McDonnell (D) warned Omaha council members that their actions run afoul of the state’s recent Legislative Bill 77, the permitless concealed carry law.
Interestingly, the new city law does not ban so-called “ghost guns” outright, just their parts.
