(1011 Now/KOLN)—The Nebraska Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday over a legal challenge to an executive order and city ordinances regulating firearms on city property in Lincoln.
The lawsuit targets Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird’s executive order banning weapons in city parks, trails, and other public spaces, along with several city ordinances imposing firearm regulations. The Nebraska Firearms Owners Association (NFOA) argues these restrictions violate Nebraska’s Legislative Bill 77, which allows for “constitutional carry” and nullifies local firearm regulations.
The Liberty Justice Center, representing the NFOA, contends the city’s rules also infringe on the Second Amendment and create confusion for law-abiding gun owners trying to navigate conflicting regulations.
Liberty Justice Center President, Jacob Huebert, said, “…that directly carries a penalty of a charge of a misdemeanor and up to six months in prison, or a $500 fine or both, for violating it.”
On the other hand, the Lincoln City Attorney’s Office argues the firearms association hasn’t even come up with a case to challenge these laws.
Yohance Christie, city attorney with the Lincoln City Attorney’s Office, says, “…they have for years carried firearms into parks and they have not even been threatened with prosecution yet they appear in front of this court and say that they have established a credible threat.”
A district court judge previously dismissed a similar lawsuit from the Liberty Justice Center, ruling the plaintiffs lacked standing since no one had been prosecuted for violating the order or ordinances.
While no action on these hearings took place, stick with 10/11 for future updates.