While $25 probably won’t break the bank, it raises the question of whether one should have to pay anything at all to exercise a fundamental right. (Photo: FBI)
Nebraska lawmakers shot down legislation Tuesday that would hike gun permits 400 percent.
By a vote of 27-17, the legislature voted to “indefinitely postpone” the measure, effectively killing it for 2018, reports the News Tribune.
The bill would have increased the cost of a handgun permit from $5 to $25. While that’s not a king’s ransom, at least one lawmaker bristled at the thought of taxing a fundamental right.
“I cannot in good conscience support having a fee of any kind for having Nebraskans express their constitutional right,” said state Sen. Mike Hilgers (R-Lincoln).
Supporters argued that the increase was needed to pay for the sharp rise in permit applications.
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Sen. Carol Blood (D-Bellevue), who sponsored the measure, pointed out that the cost for gun permits hasn’t changed for the past 25 years. Blood contends that cash-strapped counties must raise taxes to cover the processing costs.
“We are ripping off taxpayers when we choose to not rise to the responsibilities we have in the Legislature to make sure fees cover the expenses that we ask our counties to carry,” Blood said.
There is an obvious solution to this problem. Switch to Constitutional Carry. Let law-abiding citizens carry concealed firearms without a permit. Nebraska state law already allows folks to openly carry a firearm sans gun license. Why not just expand that to concealed carry?
Constitutional Carry is the law of the land in at least 13 states. Not one of them has descended into chaos since they’ve made the switch. It’s time for Nebraska to follow suit. This would unburden the counties of their costs to process all those permits. Not to mention the fact that permitless carry is what the founders intended when drafting the 2A. Taxing the right to keep and bear arms is infringement. Period.
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.”
Despite the 2nd amendment allows for the legal gun possession of the law abiding citizens the liberals mind set is if I don’t like it then nobody should be able to have it. If I can’t ban it I sure as hell can tax the crap out of it. Constitutional carry is a hard pill for the ilk like blood to swallow. They know if it becomes that the chances of banning gun ownership then really switches to a violation of a persons constitutional rights. In other words they lose
…….Nebraska!!,….Time to get the anti American politician out of office!!,…..Make sure that on her next election she get a 13 size boot up her behind!!,…..
While I got my CCP class for 50 dollars, they tend to be a hundred dollars for the class and 100 to the local police / sheriff office in Missouri.
Sounds like there needs to be some changes on election day and clean out some of those who voted yes on this measure . I lived in western Nebraska for several years . Always had a couple of long guns hanging in the pickup a pistol on me or in the truck and never had a problem . I don’t even know what the law was on carry . You could go into a bar and the boss would put your weapons in the closet if you chose to not leave in your pickup . Every male I knew and some women did the same and I recall no shootings or gun problems in town . More rules more problems !
Someone needs to edit these articles and titles before publishing – the title and first sentence implies the actual NUMBER of permits will be hiked 400 percent – should have read “Nebraska Lawmakers Vote on Proposal to Hike Gun Cost of Permits 400 Percent”
Why not get rid of the permit and save the tax payers more money!
This “permit” is not the carry permit as implied in this article. It is the federally mandated handgun purchase certificate.
What is a “Federally mandated” purchase certificate?? We don’t use them in Washington State or in Montana. Is this some local (Neb) thing ’cause we don’t do that here.
No federal permit required or mandated under Title 18 for a US citizen to purchase a firearm, except for NFA items, and that is taxed as well. FFLs are another story.
And a permit is nothing more than lawmakers trying to control something, raise revenue, record of who has a firearm, and useful for some nefarious action in the future.
It strikes me odd Nebraska should have any gun permit.
I keep making the same point, who elects these guys? Voter turnout across the country is ridiculously low. Get up off the couch or come in off the range and vote them out!
Yep, typical of an idiot liberal, lets tax someone’s right under the constitution, the problem is they are doing so all over the country and we can’t seem to get them to stop. Fundamentally we need to come up with a way to get government’s hands out of our pockets. #Taxationistheft
Typical gubbmint….creating expensive ways to justify their existence
Please tell me what this ridicules increase of fees would accomplish——————-
I will tell you what it would do—it would give the DUMB-O-CRATS more money to piss away on welfare programs—period