Concealed Carry in Omaha

/ hsoi

This trip to Omaha was my first road trip with my concealed handgun license.

Short summary: uneventful, but strange.

Resources

First, let me list the resources I used in planning:

opencarry.org – while I had no plans on open carrying, opencarry.org has a lot of useful resources, such as their maps and a Nebraska-specific forum.

handgunlaw.us – which contained a great number of legal resources, such as summary and reference of Nebraska’s laws.

concealedcarry.net – which has more legal resources, such as a reciprocity map and a trip planner.

Travel

We were driving, so I used the resources to see what laws would be like as I traveled to Omaha. In the past my drive took me through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, then into Omaha. However, I could see Iowa could be sticky so I took a different route that went from Texas to Oklahoma to Kansas, then directly into Nebraska. Google Maps even showed that as the best route from here to there, so all worked well.

You must remember that while there are Federal laws regarding firearms, much of what you’d actually deal with would be state laws, so you needed to know your stuff. Thankfully, most of the laws for the states I was travelling through was similar enough, at least in ways that it mattered. For instance, I was only traveling through Oklahoma and Kansas so I didn’t sweat details like churches or government buildings… but could rest stops be an issue? Apparently in Oklahoma, yes, but only if you went into rest stop buildings. I spent more of my time being concerned with the details of Nebraska and Omaha specifically.

Omaha Details

Unfortunately due to gang violence in Omaha, Omaha has enacted a lot of “feel good” laws that have served to only abridge law-abiding citizens and do nothing to curb criminals. For instance, you apparently can open carry in Omaha, but you must get a permit to do so. Omaha required registration of guns. But yes, past tense.

While you can conceal carry in Omaha, a simple sign is all it takes to deny lawful carry. I’m used to Texas’s “30.06” signs, which means the signs are well-defined and without question. Nebraska has no formal sign (tho they have a suggestion), so it makes things a little less clear. Here’s a sign from the entrance to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo:

It’s one of the better and more clearly defined signs that I saw around town. And believe me… I saw a LOT of denial signs. It’s a shame tho because it demonstrates a great misunderstanding. The only people who will be denied and that will obey are people with CHL’s — these people have been vetted by the system, background checked, fingerprinted, educated, tested, and generally deemed by society to be good, law-abiding folks. Meantime, the criminals and gang-bangers are just going to waltz into the zoo without a care in the world. The signage stops the people who shouldn’t be stopped, and doesn’t stop the people who should.

*sigh*

But here’s one odd point.

Back in 2007 there was a shooting rampage at the Westroads Shopping Mall. If I remember correctly, Westroads was VERY anti-gun, signs all over the place denying guns, banning guns on the property, and so on. Obviously those signs did them no good, and one could argue it made for a victim-rich zone and helped to create the tragedy. I went shopping at Westroads with Wife — we even parked outside the Von Maur department store and went into the mall through the Von Maur doors. I saw no signs denying lawful concealed carry anywhere. I still don’t know what Westroad’s policy is, but it seems they aren’t willing to allow the same tragedy twice.

I also find the signs interesting from a legal vs. “normal humans” standpoint. The way the signs read, it denies concealed carry. So… could I switch to open carry and enter that establishment? Of course, in Omaha it may require their open carry permit, but say I had one. How does this all play out legally? It’s evident that if an establishment posts those signs they don’t want guns at all, but the wording is such that it implies open carry would be alright.

It’s all rather odd and I’ll just say I’m happy to live in Texas.

To Nebraska’s credit, the CHL law is still young, but I’ve watched them over the years and they are working to clarify and improve the laws. So, just have to give them time… because the wheels of the law should generally turn slowly.

So….

So to me, I’m glad I was able to continue carrying on my trip. It’d be nicer if things were simpler and more straightforward. For instance, while many driving/road laws are state-based, there is great uniformity across the states. This greatly facilitates interstate travel. Such uniformity would be welcome in laws pertaining to concealed carry and self-defense. In many respects the laws are similar, but the devil lies in the details and that’s where it’d be nice to see improvement.

I’d also like to see Omaha improve. Yes I know gang violence is a problem, but denying and abridging the law-abiding is not going to help anything. The laws are well-intended, but good intentions pave the road to Hell. Just remember that.

All in all, an uneventful trip (in this regard), and that’s a good thing.

7 thoughts on “Concealed Carry in Omaha”

  1. Hsoi – I’m working on a project in Nebraska that is hopefully one of the first steps to fixing some problems with our CHP program that you’ve noted. Would it be alright if I used your zoo pic in Part 2 of my series? If you want, take a look at Part 1: Nebraska Concealed Carry Law Needs Signage Revision and let me know if it’s cool to use (with credit, of course) your photo. Thanks.

    Wesley

    • You are welcome to use my picture and reference my blog posting and experiences.

      I took a quick look at your blog and I like what you’re doing. Omaha does need a lot of work, and I think what most of that work needs to be is informing people and spreading education. I mean, the only people that will be stopped by those signs are law-abiding folks. Folks with concealed handgun permits are vetted by the system as “the good guys” (and data supports that they tend to be better behaved than the general populace!). Police can’t know anything about a person at a stop, but if you hand them your CHL they immediately know a LOT about you and can make the assumption that you’re more likely to be a good citizen than just some random person on the street. So really, all they’re doing is stopping good people from frequenting their establishments… why would they want to do that? other than they’re just not educated about the way things are.

      I will also say, I didn’t appreciate Texas’ so-called “30.06 signs” until I had to travel to other states. The 30.06 sign is the standard way (spelled out in the Texas penal code) to prohibit CHL holders from lawfully entering your premises while carrying. If a sign like you see posted in Omaha were posted in Texas, they have no legal enforcement against CHL holders (but they still tell you what the property owner’s stance on law-abiding citizens are, so you probably want to take your business elsewhere anyways). The nice thing about the 30.06 sign is it’s standardized and well-defined not only in the content of the sign but how and where it must be placed. Thus you don’t have to go hunting around for it, you don’t have to question what’s what or who is who. It’d be nice to see other states without standardization adopt standardized signage.

      I may not live in Omaha any more, but I was born there, have a lot of family there, and will always have ties to Omaha. I care about that city (much like my Dad does) and want to see it improve. Keep up the good work!

  2. Pingback: Peoples Press Collective | Nebraska News and Politics | Nebraska Concealed Carry Law Needs Signage Revision – Part 2 :

    • You’re welcome.

      I think what you propose is reasonable, and works to bring uniformity and clarity. Again, while I appreciated Texas’ approach, I really came to appreciate it when I went travelling and realized how non-standard other places were and how difficult that made life for us law-abiding citizens.

      Of course, next step is to take it beyond a blog posting and to take it to the state legislature. Write them letters, meet with them in person, especially ones that are more likely to be able to support and drive such legislation improvement through. Spread the word, get other lobby groups on board like Nebraska Firearms Owner Assoc. and the like.

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