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http://www.omaha.com/article/20100429/NEWS01/704299833
Should gun permits be easier?
By Paul Hammel
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - A citizen's fatal shooting of a would-be robber in Omaha has sparked a debate over whether Nebraska should join three other states and do away with training and permit requirements to carry concealed handguns.
Harry J. McCullough III, a 32-year-old drugstore customer, shot one robber who was holding a sawed-off shotgun and apprehended another.
McCullough did not possess a state permit to carry a concealed handgun. He probably would be ineligible for such a permit because of his 1997 misdemeanor conviction for carrying a concealed weapon.
Many credit the actions of the former security guard with preventing the robbery and injury to others Monday night in a Walgreens store in the Benson neighborhood. McCullough drew his .40-caliber pistol and fired eight shots. Four struck the robber.
“This is a perfect example of why the good guys should have guns and the bad guys shouldn't,” said attorney James Martin Davis, who is representing McCullough.
State Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial said Wednesday that he would favor Nebraska's joining Arizona, Vermont and Alaska in waiving all requirements except the criminal background check to carry concealed weapons.
That way, more people would carry concealed guns, the rural lawmaker said.
“Why give criminals the edge?” Christensen said. “Police do a great job, but we can't afford enough to have them everywhere.”
Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh of Omaha said he would be open to looking at a law change.
. . .
An official of the National Rifle Association, which backed the Christensen proposal, said the organization is hoping to persuade other states to follow the lead of Arizona, which passed a law this spring to do away with the training and permit needed to carry concealed weapons.
Arizonans would still have to pass a federal criminal background check to buy guns, said Scott Stevens, a legislative aide with the NRA.
“It definitely makes it a lot easier for law-abiding citizens to just buy a gun and not worry about the permit process,” Stevens said.
Christensen said “common sense” would dictate that people obtaining handguns to carry would obtain or have the proper safety training.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100429/NEWS01/704299833
Should gun permits be easier?
By Paul Hammel
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - A citizen's fatal shooting of a would-be robber in Omaha has sparked a debate over whether Nebraska should join three other states and do away with training and permit requirements to carry concealed handguns.
Harry J. McCullough III, a 32-year-old drugstore customer, shot one robber who was holding a sawed-off shotgun and apprehended another.
McCullough did not possess a state permit to carry a concealed handgun. He probably would be ineligible for such a permit because of his 1997 misdemeanor conviction for carrying a concealed weapon.
Many credit the actions of the former security guard with preventing the robbery and injury to others Monday night in a Walgreens store in the Benson neighborhood. McCullough drew his .40-caliber pistol and fired eight shots. Four struck the robber.
“This is a perfect example of why the good guys should have guns and the bad guys shouldn't,” said attorney James Martin Davis, who is representing McCullough.
State Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial said Wednesday that he would favor Nebraska's joining Arizona, Vermont and Alaska in waiving all requirements except the criminal background check to carry concealed weapons.
That way, more people would carry concealed guns, the rural lawmaker said.
“Why give criminals the edge?” Christensen said. “Police do a great job, but we can't afford enough to have them everywhere.”
Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh of Omaha said he would be open to looking at a law change.
. . .
An official of the National Rifle Association, which backed the Christensen proposal, said the organization is hoping to persuade other states to follow the lead of Arizona, which passed a law this spring to do away with the training and permit needed to carry concealed weapons.
Arizonans would still have to pass a federal criminal background check to buy guns, said Scott Stevens, a legislative aide with the NRA.
“It definitely makes it a lot easier for law-abiding citizens to just buy a gun and not worry about the permit process,” Stevens said.
Christensen said “common sense” would dictate that people obtaining handguns to carry would obtain or have the proper safety training.
