[Posted February 20, 2010, at 3:05 p.m.] There's a Second Amendment restriction in New Hampshire that just got worse. Pro-Gun New Hampshire (PGNH) tried to correct the original law, and the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition (NHFC) took an allied position, but Gun Owners of New Hampshire (GO-NH), the NRA state affiliate organization for New Hampshire, disagreed. The result is that the New Hampshire legislature is on its way toward perpetuating a gun ban in the state of New Hampshire.
RSA 207:7, within the fish and game chapters of NH state law, was supposed to be an anti-poaching law; its title is "Hunting From Motor Vehicle, OHRV, Snowmobile, Boat, or Aircraft," and its first part reads: "I. No person shall take or attempt to take wild birds or wild animals from a motor vehicle, OHRV, snowmobile as defined in RSA 215-C:1, boat, aircraft or other craft propelled by mechanical power."
The problem is that the rest of the law makes it illegal to have a loaded rifle or shotgun in ("or on") a vehicle, whether hunting or not. (For the complete statute, see http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XVIII/207/207-7.htm. ) This unfairly criminalizes non-hunting/non-poaching activities, and there are many examples. What about a family camping in a motor home with a carbine or shotgun for protection? What about a security guard who wants to have a shotgun in his patrol vehicle? What about a farmer who keeps a .22 rifle on his tractor for pest control or a logger who keeps a rifle on his skidder for protection from bears (an actual court case)? In another actual court case, State v. Shaw, 102 N.H. 498, a man was convicted of violating RSA 207:7 for sitting in the rear seat of his station wagon with a .22 rifle target shooting at paper targets in a sand pit. And recently, a gunsmith told of a customer who could have been arrested for transporting a rifle jammed by a cartridge stuck in its chamber!
Now the legislature is making this law even worse through HB1201, a bill that adds muzzle-loaders (including muzzle-loading handguns, a category previously not restricted, and now to be restricted even with a NH carry license) to RSA 207:7. This puts modern handguns only one step away from being banned as well.
Attorney Evan Nappen, PGNH Corporate Counsel, saw HB1201 as an opportunity to correct the original bad law. In December, he published an article calling for an amendment to HB1201 to fix RSA 207:7 by adding the phrase "while taking or attempting to take wild birds or wild animals" to the restrictive parts of the law. (See http://pgnh.org/hb1201_an_opportunity_to_fix_a_bad_law.) That would have changed RSA 207:7 from a gun ban back to the anti-poaching statute it was designed to be. On January 14, he continued this request by submitting testimony at the legislative hearing on HB1201, and was the only representative of a gun-rights group to do so. (See http://www.pgnh.org/pgnh_is_the_sole_protester_of_a_proposed_gun_ban.) On January 18, the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition took an allied position, writing a letter calling for a repeal of all the non-hunting parts of RSA 207:7. (See http://www.nhfcontarget.org/2010Alerts/Letters.html .)
Then in a subcommittee session on HB1201 on January 26, he again spoke to undo the gun ban part of the law, but a representative from Gun Owners of New Hampshire argued against him! GO-NH was well aware of Attorney Nappen's reasoning, and the need to stop the gun ban parts of the law, but chose to dismiss his points and instead steer the subcommittee's attention to an amendment they drafted. The GO-NH amendment, submitted by Rep. Gary Hopper, would have removed loaded magazines (but not loaded guns) and muzzle-loading pistols from the ban. GO-NH never alerted its members to oppose HB1201 or change it to remove the gun ban; their website merely called for supporting the Hopper amendment.
In the House voting session on February 17, the Hopper amendment failed, and the original HB1201, with minor corrections, passed the House by a roll-call vote of 241 to 115. (See http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2010/HB1201.html for the final version that passed.)
By distracting the legislature from the real problem, GO-NH allowed a gun ban to be perpetuated. Others said that it was as if they were more interested in challenging other Second Amendment organizations, and promoting themselves, than in doing what was right. Here's what we published in a previous article (http://pgnh.org/comments_on_hb1161_and_go_nh_s_report_on_it): GO-NH is the NRA State Association for New Hampshire, and most of us in PGNH leadership are NRA Life members or higher. We believe that our NRA state affiliate should cooperate with rather than attack fellow Second Amendment (and NRA) organizations. If you agree, contact the NRA and tell them. Call NRA-ILA at (800) 392-VOTE (8683), Monday-Friday, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., EST. or email them at https://secure.nraila.org/Contact.aspx .