Bellevue Gun Rights Group Sues Nebraska On Concealed Carry Ban for Immigrants

Bellevue gun rights group, the Second Amendment Foundation, filed suit in the state of Nebraska on behalf of a man who is barred from obtaining a concealed weapon permit because he has a green card and is not a U.S. citizen.

The federal lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of Carlos Nino De Rivera LaJous, a 68-year-old Mexican citizen who immigrated legally to Lincoln, Neb., in 1990 and obtained a permanent resident visa in 1991, according to the Second Amendment Foundation's press release. The Nebraska Firearms Owners Association is also part of the lawsuit.

While LaJous can get a permit to carry a firearm openly where it is allowed, Nebraska law bars him and other resident aliens from obtaining a concealed weapons permit, according to the group.

The suit claims that Nebraska's ban on non-citizen gun ownership is unconstitutional, violating the Second Amendment, which is the right to bear arms, and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. 

“There is no rationale for a system in which someone can legally carry openly for self-defense, but yet that person cannot obtain a concealed pistol permit because of nationality,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb in a prepared statement. 

The group said that LaJous, a machinist for an aviation company, has earned three associates degrees from a local community college and that he has been a productive member of his community for the past two decades. 

The group has also sued other states for similar laws, including Washington, New Mexico and Iowa, the group said. According to the Associated Press, a judge in New Mexico last week granted an injunction barring New Mexico from enforcing the citizenship requirement for its concealed weapons permits.

What do you think? Is the state of Nebraska's requirement reasonable? Tell us in the comments.