Pro-Gun New Hampshire

February 21, 2008: The NH House Legislative Administration Committee held public hearings on HB1354, the bill to ban guns in the State House complex, on February 5. As customary, the bill's sponsor (and its only sponsor), Rep. Eleanor Glynn Kjellman of Henniker, spoke first. Of the 24 people who followed her, all spoke against the bill; nobody else spoke in favor of it. Among those testifying were five state representatives (Daniel Eaton, Jay Phinizy, David Welch, John Tholl, and Fran Wendelboe), including three Advisors of Pro-Gun New Hampshire (Phinizy, Welch, and Tholl); three other PGNH Advisors (Stretch Kennedy, Rose Vinci, and Chris Vinci); and two PGNH Directors (Sam Cohen, who testified on behalf of PGNH, and Richard Aldrich). Other PGNH lapel pins were visible in the room, including those worn by at least two others who testified against the bill.

The House Legislative Administration Committee changed the hearing location for HB1354 from State House room 100 to LOB (Legislative Office Building) room 104. The change was posted on the docket, but not on the "Quick Bill Search" summary. The date and time remain the same: 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 5, 2008.

Public hearing now scheduled: Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 11:00 a.m.
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, LOB Room 204

HB1379, "relative to the authority of state agencies to prohibit state employees from lawfully carrying a firearm"

Link to bill text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2008/HB1379.html

SUPPORT

This bill provides that no state agency shall prohibit any state employee, or other person who contracts with the state, from lawfully carrying a firearm on his or her person while on or in property owned or leased by the state, unless otherwise prohibited by law.

On Tuesday, February 5, at 10:30 a.m., there will be a public hearing on House Bill 1354 (HB1354) before the NH House Legislative Administration Committee, in State House room 100 in Concord. HB1354 is the one obvious anti-gun bill in this legislative session; it would prohibit guns in the State House and the LOB (Legislative Office Building). (Link to bill text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2008/HB1354.html )

First, please contact members of the Legislative Administration Committee, especially if you are a constituent of one of them. We've included contact information for all the committee members at the end of this article. Best: a letter, followed up with a phone call. Second best: email, followed up with a phone call. It's not a good idea to call them too far in advance of the hearing, but if you wait until the night before, you may not reach them; calling on Friday February 1st may be the best compromise.

All bills for the 2008 session of the New Hampshire state legislature have been filed. There is only one obviously anti-gun bill, HB1354; its public hearing is on February 5. We will post another article about this bill, including contact information for the members of the appropriate House committee, in the next two weeks.

In September of 2007, State Representative Jason Bedrick, an Advisor to Pro-Gun New Hampshire, met with several other pro-gun legislators and several Directors and Advisors of Pro-Gun New Hampshire to discuss what pro-gun bills should be submitted for the 2008 session. In particular, Reps Al Baldasaro, Andrew Renzullo, and Connie Soucy agreed to introduce bills HB1474, HB1476, HB1265, and HB1379; Representative David Welch (also an Advisor of Pro-Gun New Hampshire) had already been working on another pro-gun bill, HB1407.

NRA BASHERS - NOPE, WRONG AGAIN!

By Evan Nappen, Esq.

December 20, 2007

"Nope, wrong again!" says Rafiki, the anthropomorphized monkey in The Lion King as he hits his wayward student on the head with his staff. Well, the so-called "no-compromise" NRA Bashers have again firmly sided with the extreme anti-gun movement in their opposition to the recently amended HR 2640, which now awaits the President's signature to become law. The NRA Bashers are wrong again and need a whack from Rafiki's staff. Here is the proof. In a recent news release, the notoriously anti-gun Violence Policy Center stated:

Pro-Gun New Hampshire has received a number of comments about Evan Nappen's article on Congressional bill HR 2640, "Enough NRA Bashing!"; almost all have focused on the phrase "other lawful authority" in the Code of Federal Regulations (27CFR478.11):

Adjudicated as a mental defective. (a) A determination by a court,
board, commission, or other lawful authority that a person, as a result
of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency,
condition, or disease:
(1) Is a danger to himself or to others; or
(2) Lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs.

Enough NRA Bashing!

By Evan F. Nappen, Attorney at Law

Introduction by the Board of Directors, September 30, 2007: While the policy of Pro-Gun New Hampshire is to focus on state legislation, we have received enough inquiries about a controversial federal bill, HR 2640, to warrant a response. Attorney Evan Nappen, the Executive Vice President of Pro-Gun New Hampshire, has studied this federal bill and researched it at length. His analysis, which follows, is the official position of Pro-Gun New Hampshire.