People soon may stand on the corner of Maple and West 2nd streets in Chadron while carrying loaded deer rifles--or a loaded .45-caliber revolvers holstered on their hips.
And it will be legal to do so, now that the City Council has repealed an ordinance banning loaded guns on city-owned property, which includes streets and sidewalks.
Police Chief Tim Lordino praises the council members for their careful considerations before the final vote Monday night. But he also worries about what the change will mean to the officers who help him keep the peace in Chadron, a Nebraska Panhandle city of about 5,400 people.
Lordino says the more that firearms are mixed with people, "the likelihood and frequency of accidents, I think, is going to go up."
