Omaha police say that in the six weeks since Nebraska’s constitutional carry law went into effect, they’ve arrested several people for failing to tell police they were carrying a gun when contacted.
You may recall that Omaha police testified against the law, saying its impact on a larger city could cause problems.
A misdemeanour charge in the bill still gives police some ability to deal with concealed weapons locally.
A new constitutional carry law on the books in Nebraska is a learning curve for both the public and police.
“You have the right to carry the gun with you. But you also have to let law enforcement know, for their protection, everything else about why you have the gun on you,” said Capt. Keith Williamson of the Omaha Police Department.
Williamson heads the Omaha Police Department’s gang unit.
Over the past few weeks, he’s also spent time learning about LB77 and its impact on policing.
He said many people don’t know that the law requires immediate notification and identification, which can lead to citations.
“It’s not unusual,” Williamson said.
In fact, according to police booking information, at least one person was charged with “failure to disclose” a concealed weapon every day last week.
It’s a misdemeanor for the first offense, an enhanced misdemeanor for the second, and a felony for any subsequent offense.
“This was the will of the legislature and it was passed. So we will enforce the law. And we’re going to do our best to work within the confines of the law to respect people’s constitutional rights and to protect the public,” Williamson said.
Williamson said if you tell an officer you have a gun on you or in your car when they contact you, you’re usually in the clear.
But he said these charges are often tacked on to other serious charges.
“I see these reports from what my officers know, and we make arrests for this with people we know are gang members,” Williamson said.
The law forced the city to repeal some firearms ordinances.
Williamson said that’s made it harder to track guns in the wrong hands.
But as for the nondisclosure portion of the law, he said it’s a tool in OPD’s arsenal.
“I would echo what both our mayor and chief have said, which is that we want more local control just to deal with the crime factors that we see locally that are different than other cities in our state,” Williamson said.
Williamson said the law still requires a concealed handgun carrier to be 21.
So even if someone younger than that discloses, they could face a more serious charge.
And for any prohibited person carrying, they also face a harsher penalty, even if they disclose.
He stresses that it’s still too early to see any trends in these charges.