Over the last couple of years, pro freedom patriots have been taking a page right out of the book of progressive politics.  With “sanctuary cities” for illegal immigrants and other state level laws that buck the Federal law (marijuana legalization), the civil rights minded have introduced Second Amendment sanctuaries.  The movement is all over the country, with many counties in Virginia being sanctuaries, the presumed birthplace of these actions.  Even counties and towns in New Jersey have passed Second Amendment resolutions.  It’s been argued that there are no teeth to any of these measures, however, Nebraska has taken this to the next level and all indications are, this can have an affect if escalated.

On April 14, 2021 Governor Ricketts declared Nebraska a 2nd Amendment sanctuary state.  Considered ceremonial, the proclamation runs down a list of common sense ideas the state wants to make known:

What is not ceremonial is if a state decides to pull any help in enforcing federal gun control measures.  The proclamation sends a loud and clear message to the federal government that Nebraska does not condone right infringing policy.  The other important message goes out to all the residents of the Cornhusker State, letting them know that the state level officials have their six.  Should the state in the future decide to no longer assist in enforcing unconstitutional laws, it would be in their right to do so, leaving the understaffed ATF and other three letter agencies on their own.  From Governor Ricketts press release, it is reiterated that this was a symbolic measure:

Governor Pete Ricketts announced that he had signed a proclamation designating Nebraska as a “Second Amendment Sanctuary State.” The proclamation is symbolic, and reaffirms Nebraska’s support for the right to bear arms.

“The White House and U.S. Congress have announced their intention to pursue measures that would infringe on the right to keep and bear arms,” says Governor Ricketts’ proclamation. “Nebraska will stand up against federal overreach and attempts to regulate gun ownership and use in the Good Life.”

Getting such a strong message out there is important.  If all the other states that believe in fundamental rights followed suit, it would be difficult for the federal government and main stream media to ignore.  The narrative that is being written is not mirroring reality, and proclamations like this show that.

I spoke to Jon Anderson, the Director of Media from Nebraska Firearms Owners Association (NFOA), and this is what he had to say about the proclamation:

NFOA takes none of the credit in this proclamation being signed, but it was the citizens of Nebraska that made this happen.  We are happy to see that a lot of the hard work of the citizens in addition to the work of NFOA is bearing fruits.  Everyone is working together on the town and county levels, all the way up to the state to make sure our voices are heard.  To date we do have approximately fifty counties that have passed similar sanctuary resolutions, and more are to come.  We are pleased to see this support from our Governor and NFOA will continue our efforts in making sure our liberties are preserved.

Nebraska does also have a bill that is stalled in committee, with a 4 – 4 tied vote, LB188 – Adopt the Second Amendment Preservation Act.  Should this bill make it out of committee and onto the floor for a vote, there is a solid possibility of it being passed based on the number of counites supporting resolutions.  If enacted, the law would make null and void any unconstitutional gun control laws in the state, by prohibiting any agent of the state from enforcing said law with penalties involved.  To give some perspective on how serious Nebraskans are when it comes to this, take a look at the portion of the bill involving penalties:

Any agent or employee of this state or of any political subdivision of this state who knowingly violates the prohibitions in section 3 of this act shall, for a first violation, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed three thousand dollars which civil penalty shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the General Fund and, for a second or subsequent violation, be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.

Nebraskans take some time to reach out to the Governor and thank him for showing his support for your god given rights.  Also contact your state legislators and the committee members.  Urge them to support the passage of LB188 and halt the ingress of bad policy in the state.

A video of Governor Ricketts signing the proclamation can viewed on his facebook page: