Thought this might be of interest. This is a response from the NSP legal council team to a question I asked on the NSP site. You should get the gist of what I
asked by the content.
The response:
Nebraska statutes contain nothing related to "printing". The statutes simply say that a handgun is considered concealed if no part of the weapon is visible and it is not considered concealed if any part of the handgun is capable of being seen. The statutes do not deal with the outline of a handgun showing through the clothing. If a portion of the handgun becomes exposed, intentionally or unintentionally, the handgun is not considered concealed. Intentional "printing" may subject the permit holder to extra scrutiny, may be threatening to some members of the public, and may invite others to use more force thus defeating the primary purpose of concealed carry which is self defense. Intentional "printing" is not illegal per se, but may be seen as a hostile or threatening act in some circumstances and could violate criminal laws.
Nebraska statutes do not address the topic of open carry of firearms. One of the principles of criminal law is that an act is legal unless it is clearly prohibited. Open carry is legal in the state of Nebraska, not because it is authorized by statute, but because it is not prohibited. There are, however, city ordinances which are more restrictive than state statute. We don't have all of the city ordinances so I can only advise you to check with the city on that issue.
Open carry by a permit holder, unintentional exposure, or "printing" do not violate the state statutes. You are correct in saying that the affirmative defense is lost by a permit holder. That, however, does not have a bearing on open carry.
Steven J. Shaw
Chief Legal Counsel
Nebraska State Patrol
The response:
Nebraska statutes contain nothing related to "printing". The statutes simply say that a handgun is considered concealed if no part of the weapon is visible and it is not considered concealed if any part of the handgun is capable of being seen. The statutes do not deal with the outline of a handgun showing through the clothing. If a portion of the handgun becomes exposed, intentionally or unintentionally, the handgun is not considered concealed. Intentional "printing" may subject the permit holder to extra scrutiny, may be threatening to some members of the public, and may invite others to use more force thus defeating the primary purpose of concealed carry which is self defense. Intentional "printing" is not illegal per se, but may be seen as a hostile or threatening act in some circumstances and could violate criminal laws.
Nebraska statutes do not address the topic of open carry of firearms. One of the principles of criminal law is that an act is legal unless it is clearly prohibited. Open carry is legal in the state of Nebraska, not because it is authorized by statute, but because it is not prohibited. There are, however, city ordinances which are more restrictive than state statute. We don't have all of the city ordinances so I can only advise you to check with the city on that issue.
Open carry by a permit holder, unintentional exposure, or "printing" do not violate the state statutes. You are correct in saying that the affirmative defense is lost by a permit holder. That, however, does not have a bearing on open carry.
Steven J. Shaw
Chief Legal Counsel
Nebraska State Patrol
