A yearslong legal fight over city gun regulations in Omaha is over after a Douglas County judge ruled that ordinances banning ghost guns and bump stocks are not preempted by the state’s constitutional carry law.
The lawsuit, brought against the City of Omaha and former Mayor Jean Stothert by the Nebraska Firearm Owners Association and five local gun owners, also challenged an executive order issued by Stothert in 2023 that banned people from possessing firearms on city-owned property. That executive order was rescinded by Stothert in 2025, and Omaha’s new mayor, John Ewing, has not enacted a similar order.
In an order last month, Douglas County District Court Judge LeAnne Srb found that the plaintiffs’ challenge to the firearms ban on city property is moot since the order was rescinded. Srb did not rule on the underlying question of whether or not a city government has the power to prohibit firearms on city property.
The Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit litigation firm that represented the association and the individual gun owners, hailed the mootness finding as a victory in a Wednesday press release.
“Repealing the carry ban was the right thing,” Liberty Justice Center attorney Ryan Morrison said in a statement. “The Second Amendment is not a second class right and law-abiding people should be able to exercise it to the fullest.”
But Srb’s decision also upheld the city’s bans on bump stocks and ghost guns. Ghost guns are do-it-yourself, untraceable firearms that can be built at home using an online kit and, typically, a 3D printer. Bump stocks or trigger activators are an attachment that allows a semi-automatic weapon to fire more quickly.
The association argued that LB77, Nebraska’s constitutional carry law enacted in 2023, prevented municipalities from enacting regulations on ghost guns and bump stocks in addition to general firearm regulations. Though Srb said the Legislature “clearly intended to deny municipalities the right to implement legislation regarding firearms and other weapons,” she found that neither ghost guns nor bump stocks were covered by LB77.
For ghost guns, Srb said that the court “cannot say that incomplete firearms without their integral parts meet the statutory definition of a firearm.” As for bump stocks or trigger activators, Srb said, the Legislature would have expressly mentioned those components had they meant for LB77 to preempt any municipal regulations on them. She referenced state laws in Iowa and Arizona that explicitly prevent municipal regulations on “firearms attachments” or “any firearm or ammunition components or related accessories.”
Morrison said they do not plan to appeal Srb’s decision. Instead, the Nebraska Firearm Owners Association will “advocate for a change in state law with the Nebraska Legislature to overturn those bans.”
The Nebraska Supreme Court recently ruled on a case challenging a similar firearm ban on city property in Lincoln. The court found that the firearm owners association lacked standing to bring the case, but the individual gun owners do have standing. The case was sent back to court in Lancaster County for further proceedings, which are ongoing.