Nebraska lawmakers hear testimony on proposal to allow concealed carry without a permit

LINCOLN — Charles Cox said Nebraska doesn’t charge him to exercise his constitutional right to free speech.

Nor does he have to pay a poll tax to cast a ballot.

But he said if he wants to carry a concealed handgun — a right he says he’s afforded under the Second Amendment — he must spend $100 for a special permit issued by the Nebraska State Patrol.

“A right does not exist if you have to be permitted to exercise it,” said Cox, director of a group called Nebraska Gun Owners.

He and other gun-rights proponents testified Thursday in support of a bill that would allow people who are 21 and older in Nebraska to carry concealed guns without permits. About a dozen other states, including Kansas, Missouri and Wyoming, have what are called permitless carry laws.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/legislature/nebraska-lawmakers-hear-testimony-on-proposal-to-allow-concealed-carry/article_e94104fc-7700-5451-90cf-c9c32a500977.html