I began my career as a soldier by taking an oath to defend the United States Constitution. The Constitution was supposed to set up a government of checks and balances. Those checks and balances are how we protect liberty and prevent government abuse. The Second Amendment is a critical part of our constitutional system.

I do not think the government should charge you money for freedoms spelled out in the Constitution. As chairman of the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee, I can tell you that we do not charge people money for voting in Nebraska. We do not charge people money for attending public meetings. We do not charge people money for coming in and examining public records. We do not charge people money for these things because people have the right to do them. 

But today in Nebraska, the government charges people money for their right to bear arms. We do that even though the Second Amendment says that people have the right to “bear arms.” Nebraska’s Constitution says it, too. I do not agree with our current law on making it a crime to carry concealed without a permit. In 2021, the normal way that everyday people carry defensive sidearms is concealed carry. For this reason, more and more states do not require people to pay for a permit to carry concealed.

Vermont never had a ban on carrying concealed, and at least twenty other states have repealed their bans on concealed carry by law-abiding people. Five of our six neighbors are on the list — all but Colorado. Iowa was the most recent convert and just became a constitutional carry state in 2021. Sometime in 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States will be elaborating on what the Constitution means to “bear arms.”

This is the right time to act in Nebraska. This past January, I introduced LB 236. That was a county-option constitutional carry bill. Over the last two years, we have seen many Nebraska counties declaring themselves “Second Amendment Sanctuary Counties.” Giving those county boards the power to make their constituents more free seemed like a good idea. Well, against pretty tough odds we got LB 236 out of committee. 

It was going to be a fight on the floor of the Legislature, but we were feeling good. Then the Attorney General weighed in at the very last minute. The Attorney General’s office did not think LB 236 was such a great idea. In fact, they thought that it was an unconstitutional idea. That opinion shook some folks up. We had to make a difficult decision. We decided to gut LB 236 and amend in some other important gun law improvements that we had been working on, including improvements to the Concealed Handgun Permit program and a very important clarification of how a person may legally transport guns in Nebraska. 

Now, I am coming back for permitless carry. I will be introducing a Constitutional Carry bill in the Nebraska Legislature in January. My staff has been working with the NRA and many others to get draft legislation into shape. Our governor has promised to sign the bill if it comes to his desk. People should not have to pay money and ask government permission to exercise their constitutionally protected individual rights.