The SKY is FALLING the SKY is FALLING!

Once again DiAnna R. Schimek is predicting bad things happening to Lincoln if they don't pass a concealed weapons ban.

Funny that Schimek didn't talk about the FBI report that states "Violent crime rates are highest overall in states with laws severely limiting or prohibiting the carrying of concealed
firearms for self-defense. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 1992)" .
http://www.kc3.com/CCDW_Stats/fla_model.htm

From the Lincoln Journal Star 17 July 2006
Local View: Concealed weapons law would keep community safe

By DiAnna R. Schimek
Monday, Jul 17, 2006 - 12:12:11 am CDT

A recent opinion piece (Journal Star, July 9, 2006) by my good friend and colleague Sen. Jeanne Combs suggests that Mayor Seng and the City Council would be jumping the gun by maintaining a citywide ban on concealed weapons. As someone who has participated in many debates on this topic on the floor of the Legislature, I respectfully disagree.

I believe it is wise for city leaders to be cautious about the new state statute, which struck down a law that had been standing for more than 130 years. There are several problems with this new policy that should have been addressed by supporters within the Legislature before it was enacted, things that could have at least been improved before the bill was hastily passed. For instance, the renewal fee is incredibly small; there is, alarmingly, no follow-up testing for renewals; and the bill does not strike pre-existing statutory language that enables cities of the primary class such as Lincoln to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons (Nebraska Revised Statutes § 15-255). This is a very important detail and it is on this detail that the debate in Lincoln is predicated.

During last year's hurried legislative session, gun advocates became so anxious to get something -- anything -- passed that many of the aforementioned "holes" were simply ignored. Because of the failure to strike § 15-255, I believe it is clearly within the city of Lincoln's authority to decide on a citywide ban, and I believe that it is in our best interest to do so.

As Combs states in her article, the debate on concealed handguns in Lincoln must be based on fact, not emotion. The problem is that there are very few facts or reliable statistics available regarding how such legislation affects communities. In fact, the only state that mandated the collection of criminal statistics along with the passage of concealed carry legislation was Texas, in 1996. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, concealed handgun permit holders were arrested 5,314 times (for crimes including murder, rape, kidnapping, and drug-related offenses, among others) from 1996 to 2001. During that same five-year period, Texas permit holders were arrested for weapon-related offenses at a rate 81 percent higher than that of the general population of Texas. Since 2001, Texas state law restricts information available to the public. No other states have ever mandated the collection of information about crime resulting from the enactment of concealed carry laws. Nebraska's law certainly does not require any reporting, although that was suggested during the course of the debate.

It also should be mentioned that no state, at least to the best of my knowledge, has ever collected data regarding suicides and accidental deaths that resulted from guns kept by those licensed to concealed-carry permit holders. We don't know what the experience has been in other states, but we are kidding ourselves if we think those tragedies won't occur.

Because of the lack of information and because of the "holes" in the Concealed Handgun Permit Act, I urge our city leaders to reject any attempt to permit concealed weapons in our neighborhoods and business districts. Cool heads must prevail regarding concealed handguns if we are to succeed in truly keeping our community a safe place to live.

Sen. DiAnna R. Schimek represents District 27 in Lincoln.