(KOLN)—The Nebraska Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Liberty Justice Center’s legal challenge to several City of Lincoln weapon ordinances and an executive order by Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird.
The Court issued an order granting the Liberty Justice Center’s petition on Thursday. A hearing date has not yet been announced.
The litigation firm alleges the city’s ban on firearms on city property—including parks and trails—violates a state law protecting the right to bear arms statewide and banning local weapons regulations.
“State law plainly protects Nebraskans’ right to carry a firearm statewide—and prohibits local governments from regulating weapons. We are pleased that the Nebraska Supreme Court considered this case important enough to review immediately, and we look forward to holding the mayor and the city accountable for their overreach,” said Jacob Huebert, President of the Liberty Justice Center.
In April 2023, Nebraska lawmakers passed LB 77, allowing legal gun owners to carry concealed without a permit. Following the bill’s signing, Mayor Gaylor Baird issued an executive order prohibiting weapons from being present on city property under penalty of trespassing.
The Liberty Justice Center filed lawsuits on behalf of Nebraska Firearms Owners Association challenging the mayor’s weapon policy rule along with several municipal codes which regulate weapons in December 2023.
In June 2024, a Lancaster County judge dismissed the case on grounds of lack of standing. The District County judge found that nobody had been prosecuted on account of the executive order, and therefore nobody had been harmed by it.
The Liberty Justice Center appealed the lower court’s decision to the state Court of Appeals, arguing that its clients have standing because the laws have forced them to change their behavior to avoid prosecution.