Gun debate after shooting at Omaha Target falls along familiar lines

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – While only the gunman was killed during the shooting at a Target in west Omaha on Tuesday, some are saying the entire thing could have been prevented.

Advocates of bills like LB 77, the permitless concealed carry bill, say the shooting proves the need for more people to carry weapons.

Opponents say that more guns will only lead to more shootings and that police can already handle the threat.

They say it’s not illegal for people to be armed and walk into a public place with a gun, so shootings like Tuesday’s will become even more common if the amount of training and background checks are reduced.

Brittany Cooper, state coordinator at Nebraskans for Peace, said the majority of people don’t support this legislation, or it would have been passed before.

“Every year, thousands of permits are not issued because of background checks, so it’s very important we continue that and those processes aren’t circumvented,” she said.

In 2014, Target asked people not to bring guns into stores, even if it was allowed under local laws.

Supporters of gun rights said when these shootings happen, the response time matters.

It took only six minutes for police to arrive at Target.

But Patricia Harrold, president of the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association, said law-abiding citizens with guns could have stopped the shooter even faster.

“It could have been any one of us who chooses the self-defense lifestyle, to have a tool readily at hand,” she said. “Whether it’s a law enforcement officer or a citizen, you have to have someone with a firearm to stop somebody with a firearm.”

Opponents disagree and say it is very rare for a civilian to do anything about a shooter.

Melody Vaccaro, executive director of Nebraskans Against Gun Violence, said police recognized the danger on Tuesday and were able to take care of the situation without the help of citizens.

“They saw somebody walking around with an assault weapon, and they killed them. That’s how dangerous they found that person to be,” she said. “So the idea that we would let more people come into the public square with more guns and less background checks and less training is completely and totally out of touch.”

Gun rights advocates such as Harrold say that the real problem is mental health and that there needs to be more support systems to prevent shootings.

“We have a mental health board and a mental health process that’s broken,” Harrold said. “It’s underfunded, it’s not efficient, it’s not equipped. We have really, really, really good people trying to work within the system, but if the average citizen knew just how bad that system is, we wouldn’t be shocked or surprised that what happened at Target happened.”

Both sides said there are several important bills to look out for as the Legislature moves forward, including LB 314 and LB 5.

Introduced by Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha, LB 314 would provide suicide education and prevention training to gun owners.

LB 5, introduced by Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue, would provide workers’ compensation for those who have experienced violence such as a shooting at their workplace.

The debate over guns in Nebraska is expected to continue as all these bills move forward.