(OMAHA, Neb.)—The Liberty Justice Center is pleased to announce that the City of Omaha’s attempt to impose a sweeping ban on firearms across Omaha city property—including city-managed buildings, parks, and surrounding public areas such as sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots—is officially over.
The Liberty Justice Center filed Nebraska Firearms Owners Association v. Omaha on December 18, 2023, challenging Omaha’s firearm restrictions that conflicted with Legislative Bill 77. This state law, enacted in 2023, adopted statewide constitutional carry while preventing local governments from imposing their own firearm regulations. Despite that statewide protection, Omaha’s mayor issued an executive order banning firearms from city property, and the City Council also passed ordinances targeting “ghost gun” parts and bump stocks.
The lawsuit followed a December 15 opinion from Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilgers concluding that state law preempted Omaha’s executive order and that banning firearms in public spaces such as parks, trails, and sidewalks violated the right to bear arms protected by the Second Amendment and the Nebraska Constitution.
In early 2024, the Douglas County District Court blocked enforcement of the executive order while the case proceeded. On February 24, 2025, the executive order banning firearms from city property was repealed, and a one judge panel later concluded the challenge to the carrying ban was moot because the executive order was withdrawn.
“Repealing the carry ban was the right thing. The Second Amendment is not a second class right and law-abiding people should be able to exercise it to the fullest,” said Ryan Morrison, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center.
This is a victory for Nebraskans and protects their individual, constitutional right to bear arms in alignment with Nebraska law. The mayor does not have the executive power to override portions of the law he does not like or agree with, and the Liberty Justice Center is proud to be part of correcting this violation.
In a similar lawsuit that is still ongoing in Nebraska, NFOA v. Lincoln, the Liberty Justice Center is suing the city of Lincoln for implementing local firearm restrictions that also defy state law protecting the right to bear arms statewide. This lawsuit challenges the mayor’s executive order and the city’s ordinances because they are preempted—and therefore null and void—under state law. The lawsuit also challenges the mayor’s executive order for violating the constitutional separation of powers.
The Liberty Justice Center will continue defending constitutional liberties and challenging unlawful government actions nationwide.
The Liberty Justice Center’s case filings in Nebraska Firearms Owners Association v. Omaha can be found here.