Sections 69-2427 to 69-2449 shall be known and may be cited as the Concealed Handgun Permit Act.

An individual may obtain a permit to carry a concealed handgun in accordance with the Concealed Handgun Permit Act.

(1) Concealed handgun means a handgun that is entirely obscured from view. If any part of the handgun is capable of being seen or observed by another person, it is not a concealed handgun;

(2) Handgun means any firearm with a barrel less than sixteen inches in length or any firearm designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand;

(3) Peace officer means any town marshal, chief of police or local police officer, sheriff or deputy sheriff, the Superintendent of Law Enforcement and Public Safety, any officer of the Nebraska State Patrol, any member of the National Guard on active service by direction of the Governor during periods of emergency or civil disorder, any Game and Parks Commission conservation officer, and all other persons with similar authority to make arrests;

(4) Permitholder means an individual holding a current and valid permit to carry a concealed handgun issued pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Permit Act; and

(5) Proof of training means an original document or certified copy of a document, supplied by an applicant, that certifies that he or she either:

(a) Within the previous three years, has successfully completed a handgun training and safety course approved by the Nebraska State Patrol pursuant to section 69-2432; or

(b) Is a member of the active or reserve armed forces of the United States or a member of the National Guard and has had handgun training within the previous three years which meets the minimum safety and training requirements of section 69-2432.

(1) Application for a permit to carry a concealed handgun shall be made in person at any Nebraska State Patrol Troop Headquarters or office provided by the patrol for purposes of accepting such an application. The applicant shall present a current Nebraska motor vehicle operator's license, Nebraska-issued state identification card, or military identification card and shall submit two legible sets of fingerprints for a criminal history record information check pursuant to section 69-2431. The application shall be made on a form prescribed by the Superintendent of Law Enforcement and Public Safety. The application shall state the applicant's full name, motor vehicle operator's license number or state identification card number, address, and date of birth and contain the applicant's signature and shall include space for the applicant to affirm that he or she meets each and every one of the requirements set forth in section 69-2433. The applicant shall attach to the application proof of training and proof of vision as required in subdivision (3) of section 69-2433.

(2) A person applying for a permit to carry a concealed handgun who gives false information or offers false evidence of his or her identity is guilty of a Class IV felony.

(3)(a) Until January 1, 2010, the permit to carry a concealed handgun shall be issued by the Nebraska State Patrol within five business days after completion of the applicant's criminal history record information check, if the applicant has complied with this section and has met all the requirements of section 69-2433.

(b) Beginning January 1, 2010, the permit to carry a concealed handgun shall be issued by the Nebraska State Patrol within forty-five days after the date an application for the permit has been made by the applicant if the applicant has complied with this section and has met all the requirements of section 69-2433.

(4) An applicant denied a permit to carry a concealed handgun may appeal to the district court of the judicial district of the county in which he or she resides or the county in which he or she applied for the permit pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act.

Cross References

Administrative Procedure Act, see section 84-920.

In order to insure an applicant's initial compliance with sections 69-2430 and 69-2433, the applicant for a permit to carry a concealed handgun shall be fingerprinted by the Nebraska State Patrol and a check made of his or her criminal history record information maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation through the Nebraska State Patrol. In order to insure continuing compliance with sections 69-2430 and 69-2433 and compliance for renewal pursuant to section 69-2436, a check shall be made of a permitholder's criminal history record information through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

(1) The Nebraska State Patrol shall prepare and publish minimum training and safety requirements for and adopt and promulgate rules and regulations governing handgun training and safety courses and handgun training and safety course instructors. Minimum safety and training requirements for a handgun training and safety course shall include, but not be limited to:

(d) A demonstration of competency with a handgun with respect to the minimum safety and training requirements;

(e) Knowledge of federal, state, and local laws pertaining to the purchase, ownership, transportation, and possession of handguns;

(f) Knowledge of federal, state, and local laws pertaining to the use of a handgun, including, but not limited to, use of a handgun for self-defense and laws relating to justifiable homicide and the various degrees of assault;

(g) Knowledge of ways to avoid a criminal attack and to defuse or control a violent confrontation;

(h) Knowledge of proper storage practices for handguns and ammunition, including storage practices which would reduce the possibility of accidental injury to a child; and

(i) Suicide prevention training. Such training shall consist of evidence-based information aligned with best practices in suicide prevention.

(2) A person or entity conducting a handgun training and safety course and the course instructors shall be approved by the patrol before operation. The patrol shall issue a certificate evidencing its approval.

(3) A certificate of completion of a handgun training and safety course shall be issued by the person or entity conducting a handgun training and safety course to persons successfully completing the course. The certificate of completion shall also include certification from the instructor that the person completing the course does not suffer from a readily discernible physical infirmity that prevents the person from safely handling a handgun.

(4) Any fee for participation in a handgun training and safety course is the responsibility of the applicant.

(2) Not be prohibited from purchasing or possessing a handgun by 18 U.S.C. 922, as such section existed on January 1, 2005;

(3) Possess the same powers of eyesight as required under section 60-4,118 for a Class O operator's license. If an applicant does not possess a current Nebraska motor vehicle operator's license, the applicant may present a current optometrist's or ophthalmologist's statement certifying the vision reading obtained when testing the applicant. If such certified vision reading meets the vision requirements prescribed by section 60-4,118 for a Class O operator's license, the vision requirements of this subdivision shall have been met;

(4) Not have been convicted of a felony under the laws of this state or under the laws of any other jurisdiction;

(5) Not have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of violence under the laws of this state or under the laws of any other jurisdiction within the ten years immediately preceding the date of application;

(6) Not have been found in the previous ten years to be a mentally ill and dangerous person under the Nebraska Mental Health Commitment Act or a similar law of another jurisdiction or not be currently adjudged mentally incompetent;

(7)(a) Have been a resident of this state for at least one hundred eighty days. For purposes of this section, resident does not include an applicant who maintains a residence in another state and claims that residence for voting or tax purposes except as provided in subdivision (b) or (c) of this subdivision;

(b) If an applicant is a member of the United States Armed Forces, such applicant shall be considered a resident of this state for purposes of this section after he or she has been stationed at a military installation in this state pursuant to permanent duty station orders even though he or she maintains a residence in another state and claims that residence for voting or tax purposes. The spouse of such applicant shall also be considered a resident of this state for purposes of this section, as shall a person receiving the benefits of a spouse of a member of the United States Armed Forces under the law of the United States; or

(c) If an applicant is a new Nebraska resident and possesses a valid permit to carry a concealed handgun issued by his or her previous state of residence that is recognized by this state pursuant to section 69-2448, such applicant shall be considered a resident of this state for purposes of this section;

(8) Not have had a conviction of any law of this state relating to firearms, unlawful use of a weapon, or controlled substances or of any similar laws of another jurisdiction within the ten years preceding the date of application. This subdivision does not apply to any conviction under Chapter 37 or under any similar law of another jurisdiction, except for a conviction under section 37-509, 37-513, or 37-522 or under any similar law of another jurisdiction;

Cross References

Nebraska Mental Health Commitment Act, see section 71-901.

Annotations

A conviction for violating an Oklahoma statute prohibiting the transportation of a loaded pistol, rifle, or shotgun in a landborne motor vehicle over a public highway was sufficiently similar to section 37-522 to justify the denial of a concealed handgun permit application under subsection (8) of this section. Shurigar v. Nebraska State Patrol, 293 Neb. 606, 879 N.W.2d 25 (2016).
The obvious purpose of this section is to prevent people with a demonstrated propensity to commit crimes, including crimes involving acts of violence, from carrying concealed weapons so as to minimize the risk of future gun violence. An attempt to commit a crime is indicative of future behavior, and in the context of subdivision (5) of this section, the attempt itself is an act of violence. Underwood v. Nebraska State Patrol, 287 Neb. 204, 842 N.W.2d 57 (2014).

The design and form of the permit to carry a concealed handgun shall be prescribed by the Nebraska State Patrol. The permit shall list the permitholder's name, the permitholder's address, and the expiration date of the permit and contain a photograph of the permitholder.

A permitholder shall continue to meet the requirements of section 69-2433 during the time he or she holds the permit, except as provided in subsection (2) of section 69-2443. If, during such time, a permitholder does not continue to meet one or more of the requirements, the permitholder shall return his or her permit to the Nebraska State Patrol for revocation. If a permitholder does not return his or her permit, the permitholder is subject to having his or her permit revoked under section 69-2439.

(1) A permit to carry a concealed handgun is valid throughout the state for a period of five years after the date of issuance. The fee for issuing a permit is one hundred dollars.

(2) The Nebraska State Patrol shall renew a permitholder's permit to carry a concealed handgun for a renewal period of five years, subject to continuing compliance with the requirements of section 69-2433, except as provided in subsection (2) of section 69-2443. The renewal fee is fifty dollars, and renewal may be applied for no earlier than four months before expiration of the permit and no later than thirty business days after the date of expiration of the permit. At least four months before expiration of a permit to carry a concealed handgun, the Nebraska State Patrol shall send to the permitholder by United States mail or electronically notice of expiration of the permit.

(3) The applicant shall submit the fee with the application to the Nebraska State Patrol. The fee shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Nebraska State Patrol Cash Fund.

A permit to carry a concealed handgun shall be issued to a specific individual only and shall not be transferred from one person to another.

The Nebraska State Patrol or any agent, employee, or member thereof is not civilly liable to any injured person or his or her estate for any injury suffered, including any action for wrongful death or property damage suffered, relating to the issuance or revocation of a permit to carry a concealed handgun issued pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Permit Act.

(1) Any peace officer having probable cause to believe that a permitholder is no longer in compliance with one or more requirements of section 69-2433, except as provided in subsection (2) of section 69-2443, shall bring an application for revocation of the permit to be prosecuted as provided in subsection (2) of this section.

(2) It is the duty of the county attorney or his or her deputy of the county in which such permitholder resides to prosecute a case for the revocation of a permit to carry a concealed handgun brought pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. In case the county attorney refuses or is unable to prosecute the case, the duty to prosecute shall be upon the Attorney General or his or her assistant.

(3) The case shall be prosecuted as a civil case, and the permit shall be revoked upon a showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the permitholder does not meet one or more of the requirements of section 69-2433, except as provided in subsection (2) of section 69-2443.

(4) A person who has his or her permit revoked under this section may be fined up to one thousand dollars and shall be charged with the costs of the prosecution. The money collected under this subsection as an administrative fine shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska.

(1) Any time the discharge of a handgun carried by a permitholder pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Permit Act results in injury to a person or damage to property, the permitholder shall make a report of such incident to the Nebraska State Patrol on a form designed and distributed by the Nebraska State Patrol. The information from the report shall be maintained as provided in section 69-2444.

(2) A violation of this section is a Class III misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class I misdemeanor for any second or subsequent offense.

(1) A permitholder convicted of a violation of section 28-1202.03, 28-1202.04, or 69-2442 may have his or her permit revoked.

(2) A permitholder convicted of a violation of section 28-1202.01 or 28-1202.02 that occurred on property owned by the state or any political subdivision of the state may also have his or her permit revoked. A permitholder convicted of a violation of section 28-1202.01 or 28-1202.02 that did not occur on property owned by the state or any political subdivision of the state shall not have his or her permit revoked for a first offense but may have his or her permit revoked for any second or subsequent offense.

The Nebraska State Patrol shall maintain a listing of all applicants and permitholders and any pertinent information regarding such applicants and permitholders. The information shall be available upon request to all federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Information relating to an applicant or to a permitholder received or maintained pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Permit Act by the Nebraska State Patrol or any other law enforcement agency is confidential and shall not be considered a public record within the meaning of sections 84-712 to 84-712.09.

Nothing in the Concealed Handgun Permit Act prevents a person not otherwise prohibited from possessing or carrying a concealed handgun by state law from carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

The Nebraska State Patrol may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the Concealed Handgun Permit Act.

(1) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall modify the existing system of the department to allow the status of a permit to carry a concealed handgun and the dates of issuance and expiration of such permit to be recorded on the permitholder's record provided for in section 60-483. The Nebraska State Patrol shall use the system to record the issuance or renewal of a permit to carry a concealed handgun. The transmission of notice of the issuance or renewal of such permit shall include the applicant's name, the applicant's motor vehicle operator's license number or state identification card number, and the dates of issuance and expiration of the permit to carry a concealed handgun.

(2) An abstract of a court record of every case in which a person's permit to carry a concealed handgun is revoked shall be transmitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles using the abstracting system provided for in section 60-497.01. Such abstract shall contain the name of the revoked permitholder, his or her motor vehicle operator's license number or state identification card number, and the date of revocation of the permit to carry a concealed handgun.

A valid license or permit to carry a concealed handgun issued by any other state or the District of Columbia shall be recognized as valid in this state under the Concealed Handgun Permit Act if (1) the holder of the license or permit is not a resident of Nebraska and (2) the Attorney General has determined that the standards for issuance of such license or permit by such state or the District of Columbia are equal to or greater than the standards imposed by the act. The Attorney General shall maintain and publish a list of such states and the District of Columbia which he or she has determined have standards equal to or greater than the standards imposed by the act.

The Nebraska State Patrol shall inform each permitholder, upon the issuance or renewal of a permit to carry a concealed handgun, that if a handgun, or other firearm, owned by such permitholder is lost or stolen, the permitholder should notify his or her county sheriff or local police department of that fact.