Lincoln Park Gun Ban Challenged

A Lincoln district judge heard arguments Thursday on whether the city can keep guns out of its parks now that Nebraska has constitutional carry.

State of play: Four area gun owners filed suit against Lincoln's park firearms ban, arguing Nebraska's 2023 constitutional carry statute preempts any local ordinance that restricts where licensed — or now unlicensed — carriers can go. The city says it has the authority to set its own rules for city-owned property.

Catch up quick:

• Nebraska passed constitutional carry in 2023, eliminating the permit requirement to carry a concealed handgun
• Lincoln's ban on firearms in city parks predates that law
• City Attorney Yohance Christie has already argued the city's position before the Nebraska Supreme Court in a related case over guns in public places

The legal question: Preemption fights like this one turn on a narrow but consequential point — does a state law that expands carry rights also strip cities of their power to carve out exceptions on public property? Nebraska's constitutional carry statute doesn't include explicit preemption language the way some states' laws do, which gives Lincoln room to argue. The gun owners' counter is straightforward: what the state allows, a city can't take away.

The intrigue: This isn't the first time Christie has had to defend this position. He argued a related case before the Nebraska Supreme Court earlier this year, which means a ruling there could arrive before or alongside whatever this district court decides — potentially mooting the lower court outcome entirely.

What to watch: The Nebraska Supreme Court case is the higher-stakes proceeding. If the court rules that Lincoln's public-place restrictions are preempted, the park ban almost certainly falls with it. If it rules for the city, this district case becomes an uphill climb for the plaintiffs.

The bottom line: Nebraska gun owners got constitutional carry in 2023. Whether that right extends into a Lincoln city park is now a question for the courts — and the answer is still a few decisions away.