WHAT: On February 27, the Lancaster County District Court will hear oral arguments on the Liberty Justice Center’s motion for a preliminary injunction in Nebraska Firearms Owners’ Association v. Lincoln. If the Court grants the preliminary injunction, it will halt the enforcement of a city ordinance and an executive order issued by Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, which violate state law by prohibiting Nebraskans from carrying firearms on City property, such as parks and trails. The order would remain in force while the litigation is ongoing, until the Court reaches a final decision on these provisions and other Lincoln ordinances that regulate firearms, despite a state law that prohibits Nebraska’s local governments from doing so.
This hearing follows January arguments on Nebraska Firearms Owners’ Association v. Omaha, where the Liberty Justice Center secured a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of a similar executive order by the mayor of Omaha.
WHO: Jacob Huebert, President of the Liberty Justice Center
WHEN: 1:30 p.m. CST, Wednesday, February 27, 2024
WHERE: Courtroom 34
Lancaster County District Courthouse
Justice and Law Enforcement Center
575 South 10th Street
Lincoln, NE 68508
HOW: This hearing will be open to the public.
Reporters interested in taking pictures or videos of the proceedings must have or apply for credentialing through the Nebraska court system (available here) and submit a Request for Expanded News Coverage of Proceedings (available here) one week prior to the hearing. Requests submitted after February 20 must fill out the request to waive the advance notice deadline, located within the form.
Requests may be sent to the Lancaster County District Court Coordinator at [email protected] and should include the name of the media outlet, the outlet’s network or publisher affiliation, and the requestor’s email address and phone number, along with the following information:
Court: District Court of Lancaster County, Nebraska
Case Number: CI 23-4254
Case Name: Nebraska Firearms Owners Association (NFOA) v. Lincoln
Hearing Date: February 27, 2024
Judge: Judge Andrew R. Jacobsen
For other questions about covering court proceedings, contact the Nebraska Supreme Court Public Information Officer at [email protected].
ISSUE BACKGROUND: On December 18, 2023, the Liberty Justice Center launched two lawsuits challenging local firearm restrictions in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, which defy a recent state law protecting the right to bear arms statewide.
Although the State of Nebraska enacted legislation in April 2023 adopting constitutional carry—and declaring existing local firearm laws void to make regulations consistent statewide—the mayors of Omaha and Lincoln issued executive orders banning all firearms from city property. The Liberty Justice Center is challenging the cities’ firearms orders and ordinances because they are prohibited—and therefore null and void—under state law. The lawsuits also challenge the mayors’ executive orders for violating the constitutional separation of powers.
The Liberty Justice Center’s lawsuits follow the Nebraska Attorney General’s formal opinion that state law preempts the mayors’ executive orders, and that the orders’ ban on firearms in public spaces, including parks, trails, and sidewalks, violates the right to bear arms protected by the Second Amendment and the Nebraska Constitution.
The Liberty Justice Center’s case filings in NFOA v. Lincoln are available here, and a press release on the launch of the two cases is available here.