After a decade of stalled bills and committee hearings, the Nebraska legislature has passed a concealed carry law but the debate wears on.

The legislation approved Thursday will allow people to carry handguns under their clothing or otherwise out of view. That has some people concerned while others say it will protect us all.

Bradley Stearns is thinking about buying a handgun in the near future. He plans to use it for target shooting.

"I don't feel myself having a need for personal safety," he says.

When Stearns was filling out the paperwork for the background check he was unaware of the Unicameral's vote.

He says, "I don't see a lot of security in the fact that there is a bunch of people running around with concealed weapons. I do see more of a risk for law enforcement officer in their duty. They don't know who's going to have a concealed weapon on them."

Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning doesn't expect any change in the way things are now. His deputies still approach every situation as if they're facing an armed person. They rely on training and discipline to protect the public and themselves.

The sheriff says, "I've not seen any evidence that it's been a problem in any other state."

Dunning says background checks, waiting periods and firearms training provide safeguards.

Omaha City Prosecutor Marty Conboy literally wrote the book on firearms law in Nebraska. State senators wrote the law so that Omaha's ordinance against concealed weapons took precedence and Conboy wants to make sure the final draft contains the same language.

He says, "There are certainly things to research assuming it's signed and goes into effect next year. We would have to look at whether there was any change in Omaha."

The new legislation, that Governor Heineman has said he will sign, also allows any Nebraska city to opt out of the concealed carry law.

Omaha is already on the books making it illegal. Few additional cities are expected to take that step.

Nebraska is the 48th state to allow concealed weapons. Only Illinois and Wisconsin have bans.

Most studies on the impact of this kind of law have yielded mixed reviews. Those studies essentially show that crime remains the same whether there is a ban or not.