General Categories > Laws and Legislation
question re registration law in Omaha
Kendahl:
My non-professional understanding is that, with one exception, any handgun that comes inside Omaha city limits must be registered with the Omaha Police Division. The exception is if it is in the possession of someone who holds a Nebraska concealed handgun permit or an out-of-state permit that Nebraska honors. Technically, a traveler who doesn't have a permit and passes through Omaha on Interstate 80 with an unloaded handgun in the trunk is in violation of the ordinance. The city attorney is supposed to have said that he wouldn't prosecute in such a situation but the ordinance allows him to do so.
If the gun is in the Omaha house with your wife but not you, I believe she is in violation of the ordinance. If you and she kept quiet about it, I doubt that it would become an issue. However, she would be at risk if she called 911 to report a crime against her and its presence became known. Your wife might be ok legally if the gun were locked in a safe to which she did not have the combination or key. However, that would defeat the purpose of her having it for self defense.
Ditto if it's in a vehicle with her but not you. This would apply even if it were unloaded in the trunk. Whether your vehicle does or doesn't have a separate trunk is irrelevant with respect to the ordinance. Whether or not it is loaded and where and how it is stored in the vehicle will affect whether your wife could be charged with illegally carrying a concealed weapon. Unless you have a CHP or a permit that Nebraska honors, Omaha requires its own permit for open carry which includes in plain sight in a vehicle.
The best way to handle this situation is for your wife to get her own concealed handgun permit. Even if she has no intention to carry, the pemit will make issues like this go away. You could invest some money to ask your questions of a lawyer with the appropriate professional experience and follow his advice. Gary Young (see his ad for Legal Survival) would be a good choice. However, I think you would be better off putting that money toward your wife's CHP.
SemperFiGuy:
--- Quote ---Technically, a traveler who doesn't have a permit and passes through Omaha on Interstate 80 with an unloaded handgun in the trunk is in violation of the ordinance.
--- End quote ---
If the traveler terminates the travel in Omaha, then Omaha Municode 20-251 (handgun registration) applies and the handgun is immediately illegal. Well-meaning, honest, innocent firearms owners have been and still do get busted for this situation.
If the traveler is traveling interstate and the handgun is legal at the terminus of the travel, then 18USC926a (Interstate Travel With Firearms) applies and the handgun is legal. Federal law overrides state laws and local codes.
However, if the handgun is not legal at the terminus (such as in Omaha), then the protections of 18USC926a do not apply. Like ending in New Jersey. Or Illinois.
It ain't easy.
sfg
Kendahl:
--- Quote from: SemperFiGuy on April 24, 2016, 09:10:34 PM ---If the traveler is traveling interstate and the handgun is legal at the terminus of the travel, then 18USC926a (Interstate Travel With Firearms) applies and the handgun is legal. Federal law overrides state laws and local codes.
--- End quote ---
It does if the state or local government respects it. That's what worries me.
depserv:
Am I correct in assuming that the registration requirement applies to handguns only and not long guns? So a person without a CHP can have an unregistered shotgun in the house without going against the illegal edict of the criminal gang in Omaha?
SemperFiGuy:
--- Quote ---Am I correct in assuming that the registration requirement applies to handguns only and not long guns?
--- End quote ---
Not necessarily. Could be a shortie rifle or scattergun.
Here's the Whole Ugly Mess:
=================================================
OMAHA MUNICODE
Sec. 20-191. - Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them:
Concealable firearm: A firearm having an overall length of less than 26 inches.
• DIVISION 2. - FIREARM REGISTRATION
• Sec. 20-251. - Required.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, have possession of, or maintain control over any concealable firearm which has not been registered to said person with the chief of police in accordance with this division, except when
(i) such possession or control is with the knowledge and express consent of the person in whose name such concealable firearm is registered; or
(ii) the owner, possessor or transporter is in compliance with the laws of the State of Nebraska under the Concealed Handgun Permit Act or has a valid license or permit to carry a concealed handgun issued by any other state or the District of Columbia if
(1) the holder of the license or permit is not a resident of Nebraska and
(2) the Nebraska Attorney General has determined that the standards for issuance of such license or permit by such state or District of Columbia are equal to or greater than the standards imposed by the State of Nebraska.
(b) A corporation, including a body corporate created by Nebraska statute, may register a concealable firearm in its corporate name. However, the corporation may consent to a person possessing or controlling the corporation's registered concealable firearm only if that person:
(1) Is a part-time or full-time employee of the corporation;
(2) Is acting within the scope of his or her employment with the corporation; and,
(3) Possesses a current identification card issued pursuant to section 20-208 upon satisfaction of the requirements of section
20-207.
(Code 1980, § 20-251; Ord. No. 36045, § 1, 9-24-02; Ord. No. 39169, § 2, 11-22-11)
===============================================
Of course, the national and NE constitutions both have clear provisions which override everything up above.
FWIW.
sfg
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