As promised here are a few of the reasons why I am not getting all googley eyed with excitement over the Currently introduced CCW legislation known as LB454.
Sec 4 (3) (page 4 line 3) The Sheriff has five days to issue the permit AFTER the completion of the criminal history check.
Turning in your App does not start the clock. The Clock only starts when someone tells the Sheriff you check out. If the Sheriff being of the anti persuasion wants to take a year to do a throrough background check what in this bill will stop him/her.
Sec 6 (1) (page 4 line 22) The Nebraska State Patrol shall prepare and publish minimum training and safety standards and adopt rules governing training, safety courses an instructors.
Since the legislature has not specified a minimum number of hours, the truely safety minded personel in the Patrol have the authority to insure that any one with a CCW is well trained. Say as in a 40 hour training course taught at the Law Enforcement Training Center in Grand Island once a year to 40 people on a lottery basis at a cost of $2000. Or perhaps they allow instructors as they do in other states and mandate that the training only be a minimum of 25 hours.
Addittionally any new administrator of the Patrol can change any of those requirements at anytime. It is my understanding that the person that would now be responsible for these rules is a very fair minded individual that IS NOT against the citizens excercising their desire to go armed and would I believe set up a very impartial and fair system based on models in existance in other states. What happens when that person retires? The next administrator, who may not be as reasonable or Constitutionally minded, has the authority WITHOUT legislative approval to revamp the entire system.
Granted Sec 6 (2) (page 5 line 17) authorizes the patrol to approve a person or entity.
How many permits will be issued if the only people approved where Senior Patrol Officers or for entities any one of the state certified Police training academies. (THINK IOWA HERE FOLKS)
Sec 7 (l) (page 7 line 8) At the time of application you can not be under investigation for any offense that would prohibit you from receiving the permit.
Oh gee how hard is this one to figure out? How would you know whether you are under investigation or not at the time you fill out the app.
NEWSFLASH: With or without your knowledge you can be under investigation for anything at any time. How about that off-duty cop you ticked off cause he was hitting on your wife in the bar News Years Eve. You have applied for a CCW and suddenly he informs the Sheriff that he has you under investigation for an as yet specified crime that could effect issuance of you Permit.
Think that is far fetched? How about the cop that stopped you last week and wanted to search your vehicle and legally you prevented him from doing so? Or how about the one that gave a citation that yougot dismissed in court?
Ok Maybe that is a bit extreme I'll grant you that, but cases like that have occurred
Consider something more simple in that the same cop sees you at the local "watering hole" two weeks in a row. He/She could than use that information to make a reasonable case and articulate that you HABITUALLY use intoxicants and meet the requirement to have your permit revoked.
Are there cops like that out there? Your damn right there are.
Are most cops like that? YOUR DAMN RIGHT THEY ARE NOT. As I have always maintained there are but a degenerate few that make the rest look bad. When a Public Servant messes up it makes news and we hear about it. When a Public Servant does their job to the best of their ability and a little beyond we seldom hear about it. That is truely shamefull.
Sec 13 (1) (page 8 line 24) Any Peace Officer having probable cause that a permitholder is no longer in compliance with the requirements with one or more requirements of section 7 of this act SHALL BRING an application for revocation....
Sec 13 (2) (page 9 line 1) It is the Duty of the County attorney to prosecute a revocation case. If he/she refuses then the duty SHALL be upon the Attorney General.
Sec 13 (3) page 9 line 8) It SHALL be prosecuted as a civil case and the permit SHALL be revoked for violation of the requirements in section 6.
"Well your honor I Officer Bigcity had the occassion to ask the accused what the federal law was for the lowest degree of assault. At that time I also questioned the permitholder on the legalities of transporting a firearm into and through the various states. That said Permitholder could not articulate an immediate answer to these questions caused me to suspect that permitholder is in violation of Section 6 (e) and (f) of the Concealed Handgun Permit Act and immediatelly filed this action to have her permit revoke on those grounds your honor."
Tell me HONESTLY do you think there isn't an anti-gun cop or several that would not pull a stunt like that? By you possibly not knowing all of the most obscure laws that MIGHT apply to your continued possession of a permit any cop in the state can have your permit revoked, or at the very least have you hauled before the judge to justify why it should not be revoked. (Can you say lost time from work etc...? Don't worry the cop will be paid to be there, possibly even on overtime.)
How many anti-gun judges are there in Nebraska that just enjoy legislating from the bench and would just be tickled to slap down a commoner by revoking their permit?
If you can convince me that there is NOT ONE SINGLE cop, District Attorney or Judge in Nebraska that would not try or succeed at this I will quit writing and delete this blog.
That they have been ignoring the tenents of Initiative Measure no.403 for the last 16 years, what makes anyone think that they will go easy on this?
Where in this bill does it prevent municipalities from enacting ordinances that mandate their own training requirements and or local permits for carry in addittion to the statewide permit? This bill does not indicate that concealed permits are of a Statewide concern and that the Unicameral shall have exclusive power over the subject.
Oh wait I know it says so in CI-1. Oops my bad they have been ignoring that for years as it is.
Think it can't happen? Under the statutes that created home rule and charters the legislature has granted power to it's political sub division TO BAN THE CARRYING OF CONCEALED WEAPONS. ( I have covered that in previous post folks)
So now you have a permit issued by a a very pro-gun Sheriff in a rural county, but you are forbidden from carrying in the places you would likely need it most, because the cities of Lincoln, York, Grand Island and Omaha have enacted local ordinances (past or present) that ban Concealed carry within the Corparate limits.
There are just a few things that I find repugnant about this bill.
And there is much more but that will be in a future entry.
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