Proposed Law Could Allow Guns in Workplace Parking Lots

By: Rowena Li - Email

Updated: Fri 10:22 PM, Jan 18, 2013

A new legislative bill could allow gun owners to keep firearms in their cars in the parking lot at work even if their employers' gun policies forbid it.

It's part of the proposal in legislative bill 335, which sponsor State Senator Mark Christensen said will protect gun owners' right to carry.

"If an employer or a public parking lot has a rule against it, and they have to park to be at work, that is taking away their right to carry concealed weapons to and from work," said the District 44 state senator from Imperial, Neb.

Employers would still be allowed to restrict guns inside their businesses. But under the bill's provisions, employers would also be liable if they didn't allow an employee to keep firearms in his car and that employee was later unable to defend himself from violence.

"If they are ever harmed because they weren't allowed to carry, then they have the right to file civil damages against them," said Christensen.

Gun shop owner Clark Williams said he thinks employees not carrying shouldn't be worried if co-workers are armed by the proposed law.

"Those aren't the people you got to worry about. It's those that don't follow the rules, they're going to bring them anyway," Williams said.

Several local businesses that currently do not allow their employees to keep firearms in their vehicles told 10/11 News that they weren't too worried about the bill because they've never had any employees challenge the current policies.