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New Poll: 62 Percent of Nebraskans Oppose Stripping Cities of the Ability to Pass Common-Sense Public Safety Laws

March 15, 2017

Poll Results Demonstrate Opposition among Gun Owners and Poll Respondents from Both Major Parties to Legislation That Would Prohibit Cities and Villages from Enacting or Enforcing Gun Safety Laws

Poll Also Shows Strong Support for Nebraska’s Concealed Carry Permit Requirement and for a Proposal to Require Notification of Law Enforcement When a Prospective Gun Buyer Fails a Background Check

LINCOLN, Neb. – Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and the Nebraska chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown, today released a new poll conducted by SurveyUSA finding that 62 percent of Nebraskans – including the majority of gun owners and poll respondents from both major parties – oppose punitive preemption legislation introduced this session that would strip cities and towns of the ability to enact or enforce public safety laws related to guns.

The punitive preemption proposal, L 68, would let out-of-state special interest groups sue cities for enacting or enforcing firearm-related public safety laws. Pennsylvania passed a similar law in 2014, and just after it went into effect, lawsuits were filed against four cities in that state – including a lawsuit filed by a gun lobby group based in Texas.

The poll results (available here) also show strong support for a proposal that would require notification of law enforcement officials when someone attempting to purchase a gun fails a background check.

The survey consisted of interviews of 1,025 Nebraska adults. It found, among other results:

  • 62 percent of respondents, including 57 percent of gun owners, said they oppose legislation that would strip cities and villages of the ability to enact or enforce public safety laws related to guns.
  • 84 percent of respondents said they support requiring notification of law enforcement officials when someone attempting to purchase a gun fails a background check.
  • 71 percent of respondents, including 63 percent of permit holders, oppose removing Nebraska’s requirement of a permit in order to carry concealed handguns in public.

STATEMENT FROM JAN HOBBS, A VOLUNTEER WITH THE NEBRASKA CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:

“The clear majority of Nebraskans recognize that stripping our cities of the authority to pass gun safety laws would be a dangerous step backward for our state. City and law enforcement leaders strongly oppose punitive preemption, and we join them in asking our representatives to put the safety of their constituents first and reject this reckless bill.”

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