Gun totting military spouses know that PCSing can bring an additional headache when carrying a concealed weapon is an important part of your life and personal safety.
Depending on where you are moving, you may have to change your residency to that state to be able to carry a concealed weapon. Or, your new state may accept or offer "reciprocity" to your permit from another state. Not every state does this and, like all state-based laws, the rules in those that do vary widely.
In this photo: military spouses at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. learn handgun safety. (Photo: U.S. Air Force.)
But spouses moving to Nebraska, many of whom will be at Offutt Air Fore Base, recently lost out on a chance to more easily score a state concealed carry permit. Current law requires those applying for the permit to live there 180 days to establish residency before qualifying the permit. The law exempts service members.
The proposed measure would've let military spouses who moved to the state on military orders to take advantage of that exemption as well. But the decision defined "spouse" under state law -- one and one woman -- and therefore ruled out same-sex spouses.
One lawmaker wanted to allow "spouse" to be defined in the measure by the federal definition, which includes gay marriage. Other Nebraskan state lawmakers didn't like that and decided to table to legislation.
Nebraska, however, is currently ground-zero for the latest gay marriage debate. If gay marriage is permitted in that state it's certainly possible that the gun-measure will be brought up again. Until then military spouses are going to face the same treatment under Nebraska law as everyone else except their own service member.
Photo: U.S. Air Force.
