Constitutional Carry Guns Defeat Racism

Law Enforcement has an Understandable Bias Against Guns

The Unicameral is debating LB773 which would allow people to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. This will not abolish handgun permits as Nebraska would have reciprocity with other states regarding such permits.

Unfortunately, many in law enforcement oppose this legislation because they are biased from their own experiences in confronting criminals. They love the community and are concerned about public safety yet they can be naive about the negative impact of forcing law-abiding handgun owners to obtain a permit.

Nebraska has been an open-carry state for some time without any significant problems. Numerous states have Constitutional Carry already, and report no significant problems with such laws. Believe me, if there was a problem, we would hear the liberal news media screeching about it.

Senator Brewer, a Lakota Sioux native, introduced the legislation and as a compromise with law enforcement, provided for an absurd amendment AM 2106 with over 65 pieces of law to impose restrictions on handgun owners. (https://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/107/PDF/AM/AM2106.pdf)

With such an amendment, Senators Justin Wayne, and Terrell McKinney, both “people of color”, opposed such amendment, and rightly so. The amendment would basically “red line” gun rights and possibly violates civil rights. If the amendment was limited to crimes of rape, robbery, murder, assault and fraud, perhaps my criticism would fail but over 65 “adjustments” to the bill is absurd and idiotic. AM2106 is just the attempt of some law enforcement organizations to veto or filibuster LB 773. Why do this to lawful handgun owners when modern technology can scan us at the airport or scan us merely entering a public building such as the Douglas County building where County Commissioners and City Council meet?

I am confident many law enforcement officials can come up with scenarios about criminals and public safety issues where they deem the restrictions on handguns are reasonable. But restrictions simply discourage law abiding citizens instead of criminals who are willful in wanting to break many laws.

The average gun owner is afraid of people who are phobic about guns who have irrational reactions to seeing guns. There is a word for people who fear guns: hoplophobia. Many gun owners fear restrictions because such restrictions are enforced and encouraged by those who are phobic about guns. Having a concealed gun prevents panic and fears. Those using such guns are involved in risky business transactions (large cash or high price product) or have to deal with serious threats to their life where a protection order provides little comfort. A gun is an insurance policy.

But what of training or gun usage? The urban handgun owner really has no place to fire their weapon, so they will go to a gun range and the range will have them go through a gun safety presentation. In shooting, safety personnel make certain people use guns properly and provide advice. In addition, ranges offer training in guns. To force such gunowners to seek a permit makes very little sense at all.

The number one impact of Constitutional Carry legislation will be thousands of urban handgun owners going to the shooting range as their permit had expired or they were unwilling to pay the excessive fee for a permit which prevented such visit to the gun range. The second impact will be low income people buying handguns to protect themselves from robbery, assault and theft. Police officers are great, but too often, their only value is in the police report they make as people send such reports to the insurance company to make a claim on a stolen item. Sorry: truth hurts. Police could avoid writing up such lengthy and time consuming reports if the victims had had a gun to say, “Hey, I am armed. Don’t mess with me.”

Some may question why I challenge law enforcement on such issues but they make their own mistakes as all humans do. My skepticism was heightened by the Wendy’s shoot out for the Cops TV program years ago. All the bullets in the windows came from police officers as the criminal had a pellet gun. The Omaha Police Department learned, and rightly took action to do much better training of officers. Law enforcers are only human.

If you still are skeptical, let me push you further. Racial minorities are far more likely to be victims of crime, yet those who oppose this bill are white liberals: Megan Hunt, Machaela Cavanaugh, John Cavanaugh, and Adam Morfeld. Those who are pushing a clean passage of this bill are racial minorities, including Lakota Sioux Tom Brewer, Black American Justin Wayne and Black American Terrell McKinney.

I firmly understand the fears of law enforcement about gangs, but much of the crime in Nebraska comes from derelict criminals who prey on weak people. Guns are the best defense such people have in preventing becoming a victim.