LINCOLN, Neb. — Yesterday marked the end of the 2024 legislative session in Nebraska. Despite nearly a dozen dangerous gun bills being introduced, due to the tireless advocacy from volunteers with the Nebraska chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, lawmakers adjourned without passing any dangerous gun bills.
“Communities across Nebraska continue to be re-traumatized by gun violence and it’s maddening that we’ve spent the last few months fighting for lawmakers to abandon these extreme and reckless bills when they should have – and could have – spent their time working to pass common sense gun safety laws that would actually make us safer,” said Jen Hodge, a volunteer with the Nebraska chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Let’s be real, policies like repealing background checks or shoot first laws that encourage people to shoot first and ask questions later didn’t pass because lawmakers knew that they were too dangerous and too extreme. While we are ecstatic that these dangerous bills did not become law, we hope that next session legislators will focus on preventing gun violence, rather than pushing for extreme gun lobby-backed policies that will exacerbate it.”
This session, Republican lawmakers introduced but failed to pass:
- Legislative Bill 883, proposed legislation to repeal the state’s critical background check requirement for unlicensed purchases of handguns. This would remove all of the state’s checks from keeping guns out of dangerous hands, as Nebraska passed a law to repeal its permit to carry requirements for handguns last year.
- Legislative Bill 1269, proposed legislation to change the state’s traditional self-defense law to a shoot first law – allowing an individual to kill another person outside of their home even if they could safely avoid doing so. These laws are proven to dramatically escalate violence.
- Legislative Bill 925, proposed legislation which would generally prohibit public entities from doing business with companies that decline to do business with the gun industry
Nebraska ranks 24th in the nation for its gun laws, dropping from a rank of 22 last year. While many states advanced in the fight against gun violence, last year Nebraska gun lobby-backed legislators passed a permitless carry law, which dangerously removed the permitting requirement for carrying hidden, loaded handguns in public. Public safety experts and Nebraska voters alike opposed permitless carry, as it makes it easier for people with dangerous histories to carry guns throughout Nebraska communities.
196 people are killed in an average year by guns in Nebraska and 378 more are wounded. Gun violence costs Nebraska $3.0 billion each year, of which $45.5 million is paid by taxpayers. More information on gun violence in Nebraska is available here.
To speak to a Nebraska volunteer with Moms Demand Action, a volunteer with Students Demand Action, or a policy expert, please reach out to [email protected].
