BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) today congratulated the Nebraska Legislature for passing a concealed carry bill, which pro-gun Republican Gov. Dave Heineman has promised to sign.
Passage of this legislation leaves only two states remaining where anti-self-defense Democrats have prevented citizens from having the legal means of personal protection: Wisconsin and Illinois. Nebraska lawmakers passed the bill on a 33-12 vote.
“This is a great step for Nebraska’s law-abiding gun owners,†said CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron, “and a bad day for criminals and for the extremist anti-gunners who bitterly fought this legislation. Today, Nebraska becomes the 40th state with a true ‘right-to-carry’ law that criminals fear.
“Common-sense laws that make it possible for law-abiding citizens to carry guns for their personal protection, and the defense of their families, have proven effective in reducing violent crime,†Waldron added. “Equally important, there has not been a single case where the hysteria-driven predictions about ‘Wild West’ gunfights at traffic accidents or taverns have come true. We’re confident that Nebraskans will soon demonstrate that they are as responsible as citizens in dozens of other states where concealed carry is already the law. They will prove that opponents of reasonable concealed carry measures deal in empty rhetoric.
“Our hats are off especially to pro-gun Republican Senator Jeanne Combs, who sponsored this measure,†Waldron stated. “Nebraska residents who have fought for ten years to pass a concealed carry law can thank Combs, a registered nurse, for her hard work shepherding this bill through the process. She and her 32 colleagues who passed this legislation prove that there are still lawmakers who trust their fellow citizens with the most basic of civil rights.
“We look forward to seeing Gov. Heineman sign LB 454 into law,†Waldron concluded.