Nebraska offices are nonpartisan, but she previously listed herself as a Republican.
The bump stock ban was inked on Thursday after being passed by the Omaha City Council 6-1 on Tuesday. She signed the ban on gun-building kits on Nov. 9.
Her actions set up another showdown between a municipality and the state government. Local politicians pushing stringent gun control restrictions are increasingly challenging the authority of governors and state legislatures to preempt measures restricting Second Amendment rights.
These preemption laws are intended to ward off a confusing patchwork quilt system of laws that could easily turn law-abiding citizens into felons as they travel the state.
Nebraska became a focal point of these legal entanglements. The mayors of Lincoln and Omaha, the state’s two largest cities, issued executive orders earlier in 2023 restricting the possession of concealed weapons on city property — even by permit holders.
These actions were taken in a direct challenge to the new state law legalizing concealed carry without a permit. LB 77 also waived the mandatory training previously required.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) signed the law into effect in the spring. It expressly removed the authority of city leaders such as those in Lincoln and Omaha to enact stricter measures than those at the state level.
The Nebraska Firearms Owners Association declared it will sue both cities for circumventing LB 77. The Liberty Justice Center’s Jacob Huebert said the legal advocacy group is also considering a court challenge to the city laws.
President Jacob Huebert said the group is “prepared to stand up to protect Nebraskans’ right to keep and bear arms.”
