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Former Sen. Tom Brewer testifies during a hearing on Legislative Bill 1237 in the Nebraska State Capitol on Feb. 2, 2026. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers faced expected opposition Monday from local gun-rights advocates about a bipartisan proposal to limit what weapons and self-defense items should be allowed into the State Capitol as threats of political violence rise.
The noon-hour public hearing on Legislative Bill 1237 drew about half a hearing room crowd, less than most potential restrictions on guns. More opponents than supporters spoke, and most focused on the value of self-protection over safety measures.
Among those who spoke against the bill was former State Sen. Tom Brewer, an Army veteran who represented north-central Nebraska and helped pass a law that lets Nebraskans carry a concealed carry handgun without a permit.
Brewer said lawmakers were right to seek better safety measures at the Capitol but said they should consider arming and training Capitol Security staff and rethink how far to go to keep weapons out of the Capitol, including only in law enforcement hands.
“I understand that people get angry,” Brewer said. “That happens a lot in this building. My challenge is I don’t think the answer is making a crime of trying to protect yourself.”
But State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, a Republican who backed Brewer’s concealed carry law, argued for LB 1237 from the Legislature’s Executive Board he chairs. He said the board is trying to strike a balance between security and people’s rights.
LB 1237 would set a list of weapons and substances not allowed on Capitol grounds without prior approval, including firearms, pepper spray, explosives and spray paint. The Nebraska State Patrol would have to screen for the items by Jan. 1, 2027.
Hansen and other lawmakers who support the changes, including Democratic State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha, a fellow member of the Executive Board, pointed to violence against a state lawmaker in Minnesota and threats closer to home.
Hansen, in closing arguments, said he had faced threats to his life and said others in the Legislature and staff had faced similar threats. Among some of the public, he said, the appetite for treating people in politics normally has diminished.
“Eight years ago, I would never expect to introduce a bill like this and support it,” Hansen said. “The environment is quite a bit different, especially the past two or three years.”
Much of the pushback against the Exec Board bill came from Nebraska advocates for people retaining the right to protect themselves against threats, including Patricia Harrold and Joe Goebel of the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association.
Harrold and Goebel said some worry about walking several blocks to and from parking areas to testify at Capitol hearings, especially over controversial issues. Harrold said she often relies on weapons to feel like she can defend herself against a man.
“You’re going to ban every possible tool for me to have a chance to defend myself,” Harrold said.
Said Goebel: “I don’t appreciate as a Republican having to fight my own people.”
Hansen said he wanted Nebraskans to know he was not trying to infringe on their constitutional rights. He repeated that the Legislature is responsible for visitors to the Capitol that include many of the state’s schoolchildren.
Cora Jones, who testified in support of the security changes for youth civic engagement organization New Voices, said she and her members would prefer to feel that they can participate in the political process without worrying about weapons.
But Jones and testifiers on the left and right said lawmakers appeared hypocritical in seeking to protect themselves and their nearly 300 staffers from guns and weapons but doing less to protect students in schools and people in other places.
Testifier Rob Cunningham, who supported LB 1237, said it appeared to be a “carve-out” for lawmakers and staff.
“Progress is progress,” Jones said. “But this is not enough. You’re making changes to protect yourself and your constituents when they’re inside this building, but that’s not enough.”
Speaker of the Legislature John Arch, a Republican, spoke during one of the hearing’s exchanges about his visits with legislative leaders in other states about the majority making guns and weapons off limits in the halls of government.
Arch argued that the executive branch has Nebraska State Patrol troopers posted at the Governor’s Office to keep the governor safe and that the Nebraska Supreme Court and the judicial branch protect judges and employees with metal detectors and staff.
“The Legislature has nothing,” Arch said.
Brewer, during the back and forth with Arch, acknowledged that the Legislature has a “responsibility not just to yourself, but also to your employees.” He told the panel to “look at what is right and what is reasonable.”
Brandon Metzler, Clerk of the Legislature, testified that 37 state capitols use metal detectors or security checkpoints, according to the Council of State Governments, and 34 prohibit firearms within capitol buildings.
He said the biggest change needed to the building, beyond the purchase of portable metal detectors and increased staffing at entrances to the building, would be the need for an additional Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant Capitol entrance.
The fiscal note for LB 1237 projects a likely cost of the changes at about $1.5 million a year. Bob Ripley, former head of the Nebraska Capitol Commission, said it likely underestimates the cost of any changes to the historic building.
In person and in writing, opponents outnumbered supporters. In person, it was about 3 to 1. In writing, 22 opponents submitted testimony and 16 supporters. A handful testified in a neutral capacity, and one submitted neutral testimony in writing.
The committee took no immediate action on the bill.
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