Today in Lincoln: Nebraska Moms Testify in Support of New Gun Safety Bill

LINCOLN, Neb. – Volunteers with the Nebraska chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, will testify today at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in support of LB 1090, a bill that would protect Nebraska’s communities by requiring the Nebraska State Patrol to notify law enforcement when dangerous people break the law and try to illegally buy guns or obtain handgun purchase permits. The bill would enable law enforcement on the ground to stop dangerous people before they obtain guns illegally.

“When someone who isn’t legally allowed to have a gun – because they are a felon, domestic abuser or suffer from a dangerous mental illness – tries to buy one and fails a background check, that’s a red flag, and it’s also a crime,” said Jan Hobbs, Air Force veteran, gun violence survivor and volunteer chapter leader with the Nebraska chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “These so-called ‘lie-and-try’ offenses are rarely prosecuted—even though evidence shows prohibited people are more dangerous after failing a background check. LB 1090 is really a tool that provides valuable information to law enforcement officers so they can keep our communities safe and prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands.”

In addition to support for background check denials, Nebraska moms joined with doctors, former educators, and retired law enforcement to testify in opposition to LB 769, a dangerous “guns everywhere” bill that would allow people to carry hidden, loaded handguns in K-12 schools; on college and university campuses, including in classrooms, dorms, and frat parties; and even in bars. LB 769 would also make Nebraska ineligible to receive more than one hundred million dollars in federal education funding in 2016 alone.

“As an educator and doctor, I strongly oppose any move to allow guns on college campuses and in our children’s schools,” said Dr. Marika Stone, an assistant professor at University of Nebraska Medical Center. “We all want to keep our children safe, but the solution is not more guns in sensitive areas. We should focus on solutions that work — not a costly and risky policy like LB 769. In medicine we are constantly being pushed to practice evidence-based medicine. There is no evidence to show that allowing ‘guns everywhere’ will result in greater safety.”

In January, Nebraska Moms applauded lawmakers in Lincoln for the successful filibuster of LB 289, a bill that would have revoked the ability of Nebraska cities and villages to enact and enforce common-sense public safety measures designed to keep communities safe. During that effort, Nebraska Moms met with more than forty senate offices, sent more than two hundred emails, and drove hundreds of calls to lawmakers to encourage opposition to LB 289.