New Hampshire –-(Ammoland.com)- Yesterday, NHFC Secretary, Rep. JR Hoell and I attended the hearing on HB350, the Gun Voter Suppression Act that Scott told you about over the weekend.
There was a lot of fear-mongering by the sponsors of this extremely anti-gun bill that, if enacted into law, will place gun owners in prison for up to 7 years for merely carrying a gun (or even a small pocket knife) into a polling place. The sponsors want you to believe that all polling places are in schools and that all poll workers are fearful of people carrying guns.
The prime sponsor, Rep. Wayne Burton D-Strafford 6, really believes that murderers, terrorists and other miscreants will actually abide by his gun ban. In reality, HB 350 will only serve to place the law-abiding in prison for exercising one civil right (the right to vote) while simultaneously exercising another civil right, (the right to bear arms). Rep. Burton claims poll workers are uncomfortable. But what about the civil rights of voters? What about self defense for poll workers who are comfortable with firearms?
One of the sponsors, extreme anti-gun State Representative Sharon Nordgren, D-Grafton, 12 said that 6 states prohibit guns at polling places. Wow, a whole 6! When it was my turn to speak, I explained that many of these other states have only allowed licensed concealed carry for 30 years or less. I explained that in the late 1980s and early 1990s off limits places were accepted as compromises to enact some form of a carry law. New Hampshire has allowed concealed carry for close to 100 years. It has worked well. We have not experienced any of the problems that the gun prohibitionists claim will occur from allowing law-abiding people to carry guns.
I also explained that Florida, one of the states cited as banning guns at polling places, also bans guns in airports. That didn’t work out very well a few weeks ago when Esteban Santiago decided to open fire at Fort Lauderdale airport. He didn’t obey the law. No mass murderer obeys the law. In many of these cases the mass murderer commits suicide, thus the murderer would probably not be deterred by the penalties attached to a Class B felony in HB 350.
The facts are simple, HB 350 is the “Gun Owner Voter Suppression Act of 2017”. The intent of HB 350 is to not only disarm law-abiding citizens, but to suppress the votes of firearms owners in future elections to help the gun-banning political left to win.
The sponsors of this bill drafted it very poorly. They have potentially put people who carry small pocket knives on keychains at risk of a 7 year prison sentence, prohibited police officers from carrying firearms at polling places and even banned storage in the cars; this even prohibits you from storing your firearm in your car while voting on the way to or from work.
HB 350 cannot be fixed. It has no redeeming qualities or ideas. The only thing to do is encourage the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee to vote the bill Inexpedient to Legislate, (ITL). Click here to email all committee members.
My right for you to not carry a gun superseeds your right to carry
You have a right to not have arms on your property, in your dwelling. But you do not have any right to tell anyone that they cannot have the means to defend their life. You really should read and understand history. Even the Bible recognizes the right of the individual to use force, including deadly force to defend life. One part of the Bible was poorly translated. Thou shalt not murder is the correct translation. Other places in the Bible, Jesus advises a traveler who does not have a sword to sell his cloak and buy a sword. Other places… Read more »
@Bgf, I think that you are contemplating very very narrow circumstances. What did you have in mind exactly?
If the gun isn;t seen…until it might be actually needed….then no one is to know that you are carrying.
NH is being overrun with democrats from Massachusetts they are trying to impose there same gun laws on us that do not work
It will increase advance voting by mail. I think you hit the nail on the head with the comment that this is just an attempt to make as many gun owners felons, thus stopping the political power of teh gun owners in the State that claims Live Free or Die.
Creating gun free zones just increases the danger. The unarmed victim zones attract violent people, whether insane or terrorist.
I guess NH does not require legislators to actually uphold their oath of office.