Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
1-17-2020

The second week of the 2020 legislative session was one of the most successful I have ever had as a Nebraska State Senator.

Early in the week, a very important effort I have been working on since I arrived in the Legislature was up for debate. I introduced Legislative Bill 153 at the request of Governor Pete Ricketts. It was made a priority bill by Senator Lowe of Kearney. It exempts 50 percent of a military retiree’s pension from Nebraska income tax. Every state we share a border with either exempts some portion of military retirement income from tax or does not tax income at all. Consequently, Nebraska has been losing these military veterans to other states for years, because those other states let them keep more of what they have earned. Senators have been trying to get a bill like this done for decades. Nebraska’s outstanding veteran groups showed up in force, and my fellow senators got the message loud and clear. The bill advanced 46-0.

Later in the week, my priority bill, LB 582, was briefly debated on general file and it advanced on a vote of 43-0. This bill will make it easier for prosecutors to obtain felony convictions for criminals trafficking in stolen guns. Stolen guns are used in many violent crimes. In particular, this will give the gang units in the more urban police departments a badly needed tool.

Speaking of gun legislation, we will debate some other gun-related bills this session. Senator John McCollister’s LB 816 would implement what I believe are unconstitutional restrictions on so-called “assault weapons,” a category defined mostly by cosmetic or ergonomic features like barrel shrouds, pistol grips, and adjustable stocks. My office has attempted to provide evidence to Senator McCollister about why his bill will actually make Nebraskans less secure. Unfortunately, he is still dead-set on more restrictions on responsible, law-abiding gun owners.

Senator Morfeld’s LB 58, a carryover bill from 2019, would create a “Red Flag Law” in Nebraska. This would result in sending law enforcement out to confiscate guns from people who have been convicted of no crime, do not suffer from dangerous mental illness, and who won’t even have a chance to defend their rights in court until after they have been taken away.

To say the least, these gun control proposals are wrong-headed. I think both of these bills are grave betrayals of our federal and state constitutional rights. I will work hard with other senators to defend our rights and to stop both of these bills. It is foolish and counter-productive to place more legal burdens on gun owners. Giving up our God-given rights will not make us any safer.

Please contact my office with any comments, questions or concerns. Email me at; tbrewer@leg.ne.gov. Mail a letter to; Sen. Tom Brewer, Room #1101, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509 or call us at (402) 471-2628.