LB 957

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                          LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
                      ONE HUNDRED NINTH LEGISLATURE
                               SECOND SESSION
                  LEGISLATIVE BILL 957
   Introduced by Cavanaugh, J., 9.
   Read first time January 12, 2026
   Committee: Judiciary
1   A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to firearms; to amend section 28-1204.02,
2Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, sections 28-1201 and 28-1351,
3Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, and section 28-101,
4Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025; to provide a cause of action
5against certain adults for allowing a minor to possess a handgun; to
6provide for an offense of leaving a loaded firearm in an unsecured
7location   accessible   to   a   minor;   to   define   terms;   to   harmonize
8provisions; and to repeal the original sections.
9    Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1Section 1.        (1) For purposes of this section:
2(a) Child means an individual under fourteen years of age; and
3(b) Handgun has the same meaning as in section 28-1201.
4(2) A parent or guardian of a child, or a spouse of such a parent or
5   guardian, who knowingly allows a child to possess a handgun or handgun
6   ammunition, except as permitted in subsection (2) of section 28-1204,
7   shall be strictly liable to an injured party for all damages resulting
8   from the use or possession of such handgun or ammunition.
9Sec.     2.   Section      28-101,    Revised    Statutes      Supplement,    2025,     is
10   amended to read:
1128-101 Sections 28-101 to 28-1357, 28-1601 to 28-1603, and 28-1701
12   and section 5 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the Nebraska
13   Criminal Code.
14Sec. 3. Section 28-1201, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
15   2024, is amended to read:
1628-1201 For purposes of sections 28-1201 to 28-1212.04 and section 5
17   of this act, unless the context otherwise requires:
18(1) Case means (a) a hard-sided or soft-sided box, container, or
19   receptacle intended or designed for the primary purpose of storing or
20    transporting      a   firearm    or   (b)    the    firearm   manufacturer's       original
21    packaging;
22(2) Concealed handgun means a handgun that is entirely obscured from
23   view. If any part of the handgun is capable of being seen or observed by
24   another person, it is not a concealed handgun;
25(3) Firearm means any weapon which is designed to or may readily be
26   converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive or frame
27   or receiver of any such weapon;
28(4)     Fugitive    from    justice     means   any   person    who   has   fled   or   is
29   fleeing from any peace officer to avoid prosecution or incarceration for
30   a felony;
31(5) Handgun means any firearm with a barrel less than sixteen inches
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1    in length or any firearm designed to be held and fired by the use of a
2    single hand;
3(6) Home school means a school which: (a) Elects pursuant to section
4    79-1601 not to meet accreditation or approval requirements; and (b) is
5    located in a personal residence;
6(7) Juvenile means any person under the age of eighteen years;
7(8) Knife means:
8(a) Any dagger, dirk, knife, or stiletto with a blade over three and
9    one-half inches in length and which, in the manner it is used or intended
10    to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury; or
11(b) Any other dangerous instrument which is capable of inflicting
12    cutting, stabbing, or tearing wounds and which, in the manner it is used
13    or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily
14    injury;
15(9) Knuckles and brass or iron knuckles means any instrument that
16    consists of finger rings or guards made of a hard substance and that is
17    designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting serious bodily
18    injury    or   death   by   striking   a    person   with   a   fist   enclosed   in   the
19    knuckles;
20(10) Machine gun means any firearm, whatever its size and usual
21    designation, that shoots automatically more than one shot, without manual
22    reloading, by a single function of the trigger;
23(11)(a) Minor means a person who is under twenty-one years of age.
24(b) Minor does not include a person who is eighteen years of age or
25    older if the person is (i) a member of the armed forces of the United
26    States, active or reserve, National Guard of this state, or Reserve
27    Officers' Training Corps or (ii) a peace officer or other duly authorized
28    law enforcement officer;
29(12)(a) Prohibited person means:
30(i) A person prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition by
31    state law, including, but not limited to, section 28-1206; or
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1(ii) A person prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition by
2    18 U.S.C. 922(d) or (g), as such section existed on January 1, 2023.
3(b) This definition does not apply to the use of the term prohibited
4    person in section 28-1206;
5(13) Qualified law enforcement officer and qualified retired law
6    enforcement officer have the same meanings as in 18 U.S.C. 926B and 926C,
7    respectively, as such sections existed on January 1, 2023;
8(14)(a) School means a public, private, denominational, or parochial
9   elementary,   vocational,        or   secondary    school,     a   private   postsecondary
10    career school as defined in section 85-1603, a community college, a
11    public or private college, a junior college, or a university.
12(b) School does not include a home school;
13(15) Short rifle means a rifle having a barrel less than sixteen
14    inches long or an overall length of less than twenty-six inches; and
15(16) Short shotgun means a shotgun having a barrel or barrels less
16   than eighteen inches long or an overall length of less than twenty-six
17   inches.
18Sec. 4. Section 28-1204.02, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
19    amended to read:
2028-1204.02 Any firearm in the possession of a person in violation of
21    section   28-1204       or   28-1204.01    or    section   5   of   this     act   shall   be
22    confiscated   by    a    peace   officer    or    other    authorized   law    enforcement
23    officer. Such firearm shall be held by the agency employing such officer
24    until it no longer is required as evidence.
25Sec. 5.    (1) A person commits an offense if:
26(a) Such person stores or leaves a loaded firearm which is not (i)
27    secured by a trigger lock mechanism, (ii) placed in a securely locked box
28    or container, or (iii) placed in some other location which a reasonable
29    person would believe to be secure from a minor under the age of fourteen
30    years;
31(b) Such person knows or has reason to believe that a minor under
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1    the age of fourteen years is likely to gain access to the firearm without
2    the permission of the minor's parent or guardian;
3(c) The minor gains access to the firearm without the consent of the
4   minor's parent or guardian; and
5(d) The minor exhibits the firearm in a public place or uses the
6    firearm to cause bodily injury or death to a person.
7(2) This section does not apply if:
8(a) The minor obtains the firearm as a result of an unlawful entry
9    by any person; or
10(b) If the minor's possession or use of the firearm is justified
11   under sections 28-1406 to 28-1416.
12(3) A violation of this subsection is a Class I misdemeanor.
13Sec. 6. Section 28-1351, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
14    2024, is amended to read:
1528-1351 (1) A person commits the offense of unlawful membership
16    recruitment into an organization or association when he or she knowingly
17   and intentionally coerces, intimidates, threatens, or inflicts bodily
18   harm upon another person in order to entice that other person to join or
19    prevent   that    other   person      from   leaving    any    organization,     group,
20    enterprise, or association whose members, individually or collectively,
21    engage in or have engaged in any of the following criminal acts for the
22    benefit of, at the direction of, or on behalf of the organization, group,
23    enterprise, or association or any of its members:
24(a) Robbery under section 28-324;
25(b)   Arson   in   the   first,    second,   or    third   degree   under   section
26    28-502, 28-503, or 28-504, respectively;
27(c) Burglary under section 28-507;
28(d) Murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, or
29    manslaughter under section 28-303, 28-304, or 28-305, respectively;
30(e) Violations of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act that involve
31    possession with intent to deliver, distribution, delivery, or manufacture
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1   of a controlled substance;
2(f) Unlawful use, possession, or discharge of a firearm or other
3   deadly weapon under sections 28-1201 to 28-1212.04 and section 5 of this
4   act;
5(g) Assault in the first degree or assault in the second degree
6    under section 28-308 or 28-309, respectively;
7(h)   Assault     on    an       officer,  an    emergency    responder,       a     state
8    correctional       employee,        a       Department  of   Health   and     Human    Services
9   employee, or a health care professional in the first, second, or third
10   degree under section 28-929, 28-930, or 28-931, respectively, or assault
11   on an officer, an emergency responder, a state correctional employee, a
12    Department    of    Health     and  Human    Services       employee,   or   a   health     care
13    professional using a motor vehicle under section 28-931.01;
14(i) Theft by unlawful taking or disposition under section 28-511;
15(j) Theft by receiving stolen property under section 28-517;
16(k) Theft by deception under section 28-512;
17(l) Theft by extortion under section 28-513;
18(m) Kidnapping under section 28-313;
19(n) Any forgery offense under sections 28-602 to 28-605;
20(o) Criminal impersonation under section 28-638;
21(p)   Tampering    with  a    publicly      exhibited      contest     under       section
22    28-614;
23(q) Unauthorized use of a financial transaction device or criminal
24    possession of a financial transaction device under section 28-620 or
25    28-621, respectively;
26(r) Pandering under section 28-802;
27(s) Bribery, bribery of a witness, or bribery of a juror under
28    section 28-917, 28-918, or 28-920, respectively;
29(t) Tampering with a witness or an informant or jury tampering under
30   section 28-919;
31(u) Unauthorized application of graffiti under section 28-524;
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1(v) Dogfighting, cockfighting, bearbaiting, or pitting an animal
2    against another under section 28-1005; or
3(w) Promoting gambling in the first degree under section 28-1102.
4(2)     Unlawful   membership      recruitment    into     an   organization   or
5    association is a Class IV felony.
6Sec. 7.     Original section 28-1204.02, Reissue Revised Statutes of
7   Nebraska,   sections   28-1201   and    28-1351,     Revised   Statutes   Cumulative
8   Supplement, 2024, and section 28-101, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025,
9   are repealed.
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