Posted: 2/2/2025 6:38:34 PM EDT
[Last Edit: FDC][Edited]
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5 Feb, 11AM in the Fish and Game and Marine Resources committee. HB 211 relative to the use of air rifles for hunting game. . This is an anti 2A bill masquerading as a pro hunting bill. The sponsor's intent is likely not anti 2A, but the words may be and one of the good things about why we have great 2A laws here is words mean things. It indirectly reclassifies air guns as firearms. This includes backyard practice in 'compact parts' of a town. It also has an entirely different definition of 'loaded' as defined by 207:1. This slides the nose under the camel's tent with regards to changing the definition of loaded for firearms. Adds some pro hunting stuff, so that's cool. The rest is BS though. 7 Feb 3:15 PM in the Criminal Justice and Public Safety committee. HB 159 authorizing the state to report mental health data for firearms background check purposes and providing for processes for confiscation of firearms following certain mental health-related court proceedings and for relief from mental health-related firearms disabilities. Reads to me like the same red flag thing as last year if I recall. Besides the seizure of property, there are no provisions for protecting said property from damage. Besides the revocation of rights faster than you can blink an eye, it takes 45 then 60 days then six months to maybe get them back. I used the remote sign in to testify against the bills. You need the date, committee, and bill number to select the bill. Please read the bill and come to your own opinion though. With my recent inaccuracies I'm likely muttering about 2A stuff on a bill that references nutrition in prison.  Would have also posted to NHFC's FB page but they don't allow public posts. |
Donate to your local 2A organizations before the national orgs. The local orgs are proactive and get things done in your state house where the nationals are reactive and try to fix things after the fact and from a distance.
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While I have an unfinished G&T and still on the interwebs HB338 relative to the authority of fish and game officers. Hearing in the Criminal Justice and Public Safety committee the 5th at 3PM is worth supporting. It is the annual attempt to put the fish cops in compliance with the 4A and require PC instead of hey I'm a fish cop, let me check your license and rummage through your shit. Standard read the bill caveats apply. I probably linked a bill about food coloring by accident. |
Donate to your local 2A organizations before the national orgs. The local orgs are proactive and get things done in your state house where the nationals are reactive and try to fix things after the fact and from a distance.
| HB159 is scary. Obviously, we don't want mental whackjobs having firearms, but the weaponization of liberal judges proves that the system can be corrupted against us. They can take a disliking to your political beliefs and issue a legal determination that you're crazy and can no longer have guns. |
For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.
Thomas Jefferson
"He didnt punch anybody. He punched an idea." DrFrige
Thomas Jefferson
"He didnt punch anybody. He punched an idea." DrFrige
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I just sent my email on the 159 bill. https://nhfc-ontarget.org/ |
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SB144 is coming up in Senate Judiciary on the 20th. I pinged NHFC's FB about it, so maybe they'll send something out. That reminds me that I need to kick them a penny or two. |
Donate to your local 2A organizations before the national orgs. The local orgs are proactive and get things done in your state house where the nationals are reactive and try to fix things after the fact and from a distance.
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HB159 is out of committee with an OTPA rec. Might floor on the 13th. I haven't read the amendment. From yesterday's calendar. Forgive the formatting, direct copy and paste. *subscribing to and reading the House PDF calendars is useful during the early parts of the legislative year. HB 159-FN, authorizing the state to report mental health data for firearms background check purposes and providing for processes for confiscation of firearms following certain mental health-related court proceedings and for relief from mental health-related firearms disabilities. MAJORITY: OUGHT TO PASS WITH AMENDMENT. MINORITY: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE. Rep. Terry Roy for the Majority of Criminal Justice and Public Safety. The bill, contrary to misinformation being spread by local advocates, is not a red flag bill. A red flag law takes a person’s rights and property without due process. A red flag law allows a family member or the police to petition to remove someone’s firearms without a due process hearing, and based solely on an accusations that they may be dangerous. This bill has no mechanism for any person to petition the court to take someone’s firearms or right to purchase them. The sole purpose of a red flag bill is to remove a person’s right to posses a firearm. The sole purpose of this bill is to fulfill our commitment to the other states of this country, to share information related to people disqualified from owning firearms. The people who are subject to being reported by this bill are already prohibited from owning firearms by operation of law the moment a judge orders them committed. This bill merely reports this disability to NICS, no different than we currently report felony convictions and protective orders, so that the fact that these people are now prohibited, is available to gun dealers nationwide. It is important to realize that this bill would only be relevant to someone who had already been the subject of a mental health hearing to determine if they should be involuntarily committed to a mental health facility. Committed, after they were found by the court to be a danger to themselves or others. At the hearing they are provided counsel, they can challenge evidence against them and bring their own evidence. They can cross examine witnesses and bring expert testimony in their defense. The process to involuntarily commit someone in the state of New Hampshire is the textbook definition of due process. Claims by anyone that this bill in anyway restricts someone’s rights without due process, are blatant misrepresentation of the facts. Of equal importance, this bill establishes a restoration of rights procedure for anyone whose rights were restricted for mental health reasons in New Hampshire. Currently there are hundreds of New Hampshire citizens whose rights to own firearms have been removed for mental health reasons. Those people are now prohibited for life. The ATF will only remove a person from NICS who was placed their for mental health prohibitions if the state has a Restoration of Rights process codified in state law. This bill goes a step further by ordering that no names may be submitted to NICS, until the ATF approves our restoration of rights law, and agrees to remove anyone whose rights are restored according to it. The majority believes that this bill is pro 2nd Amendment. Responsible gun owners have long said that we reject one size fits all gun laws that restrict the rights of everyone because of the actions of the few. All too often after a shooting tragedy we find out that the shooter had a well known history of mental health problems and nothing was done. Responsible gun owners often point to incidents like that and demand that something be done to prevent the dangerously mentally ill from getting firearms, versus laws that infringe on everyone’s rights. In fact, the reason this bill was brought was due to just such an incident. Last year a security guard at the New Hampshire Hospital was shot dead by a former patient. This patient had been involuntarily committed twice prior to this shooting. Because we consistently refuse to pass a bill fixing it, the shooter was able to walk into a New Hampshire gun store and pass a background check, and purchase the gun he used to shoot the guard, retired Police Chief Bradley Haas. We can tell ourselves he was killed because he was not armed, but that would have been no guarantee the he would have survived. What would be a guarantee though, would have been stopping the obviously still mentally disturbed shooter from buying the firearms in the first place. Make no mistake, Chief Bradley Haas is dead because we allowed his killer to obtain a firearm after the court warned us that he was a danger to himself and others. Failing to pass this bill will extend our responsibility to any future tragedy, and when one occurs, all gun owners will be held responsible by those who do not believe that anyone should have guns. Laws far more restrictive will be brought and our rights eroded. Actual Red Flag bills will be brought and depending on the level of the tragedy, the public will demand they pass. The majority thinks it’s time to put the responsibility where it belongs, on the people who have been found to be a danger to themselves or others. The majority also thinks that these people should be treated fairly, and if they do get better, they should have a way to fully rejoin society, including exercising their 2nd Amendment rights. This bill does that. Vote 10-6. Rep. Matt Sabourin dit Choinière for the Minority of Criminal Justice and Public Safety. The bill, along with the committee amendment, adds citizens who have committed no crimes to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). This action effectively, permanently, strips law abiding citizens who have been involuntarily committed of their constitutionally protected rights. Additionally, the bill and amendment deletes a section of a law that currently mandates that before sending in any names into NICS, there be a dedicated hearing in which the person or their attorney was physically present: “VI. No person, organization, department, or agency shall submit the name of any person to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) on the basis that the person has been adjudicated a “mental defective” or has been committed to a mental institution, except pursuant to a court order issued following a hearing in which the person participated and was represented by an attorney.” The amendment leaves in place the possibility that someone can petition the court under RSA 135-C:35 to have a separate individual involuntarily committed to a mental institution, thereby triggering this new mandatory reporting system. Since the ATF acknowledges on their website that the process to get off of the NICS database has never been funded and therefore this system only continues to add people. Additionally, the amendment would create a new class B felony for any person subject to this new section of law, RSA 159-G, who simply possesses a “..weapon as defined in RSA 625:11, V;” which includes common things like knives. It is unclear if this includes items typically found in someone’s home, like kitchen knives. Next, the bill does nothing to address the potential of a person who is dangerous to themselves or others who might choose to harm others using some other item like a vehicle or pressure cooker. The bill simply takes the firearms away and does nothing to get the individual the medical help they need. The net effect of this bill might be that those who need help choose to avoid getting the help they need and thereby further hurting themselves. Lastly, while the committee heard the concerns about those struggling with mental health issues and wants to address the underlying mental health issues, the minority of the committee did not see a workable path to correct this legislation and feels that to properly balance the rights of the law-abiding citizens and to help those experiencing a mental health crises, a bill aimed at fixing the current support network for those experiencing mental health crises would be a better solution. The committee also overwhelmingly heard opposition to this bill in the form of public testimony, online submissions, and through e-mails. No second amendment group that was working to protect the rights of their members was in support of the bill or of the amendment. The online opposition was overwhelmingly opposed to this bill. |
The only thing that keeps the peace are the voices in my head.
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Originally Posted By inGobwetrust: FDC, I sincerely appreciate all the effort you have put into keeping us informed. Thank you! |
For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.
Thomas Jefferson
"He didnt punch anybody. He punched an idea." DrFrige
Thomas Jefferson
"He didnt punch anybody. He punched an idea." DrFrige
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It's my pleasure, folks. We're all in this together. I don't really get involved town politics outside of voting as this town has cranked things up to 11. Same with national politics as it's the same thing every four years. This last couple months have been fun though.  So I pay attention to state and sometimes county. For the state, I might dedicated an hour or so a week to by checking three things. 1. House Digital Meeting Schedule. https://gc.nh.gov/house/schedule/dailyschedule.aspx 2. Senate Digital Meeting Schedule. https://gc.nh.gov/senate/schedule/dailyschedule.aspx Those two are the most important to check so you can get your testimony in prior to the public hearing. In the House, public hearings are blue color coded, with red in the senate. Testimony must be received by noon of the day of the public hearing, so I always grab an hour from the weekend to do so. The House wants you to submit testimony via the online submission tool. https://gc.nh.gov/house/committees/remotetestimony/default.aspx. You'll need to know date, committee, and bill #. Your name will become public record. I'm good with it. https://gc.nh.gov/house/committees/remotetestimony/submitted_testimony.aspx The Senate does not have an online option other than registering your support of opposition here. https://gc.nh.gov/remotecommittee/senate.aspx You can submit written testimony by emailing the appropriate committee. https://gc.nh.gov/Senate/committees/senate_committees.aspx I'll register my opinion on all bills I'm interested in in both bodies, but typically limit my written testimony to the House. I have shot a few emails to Senators though. Note that if you register your opinion in the House and it passes over to the Senate, you'll have to do the same before the initial hearing over there. Vice versa when things go the other way. 3. Third thing I'll look at is the House PDF calendar. https://gc.nh.gov/house/calendars_journals/ This is mainly out of curiosity to see what the committees recommend and see when bills are going to floor in the House. House sessions generally go in order that you see on the calendar. So that's basically my weekly time sink. ******************************************************************* The General Court site is somewhat disorganized and takes some getting used to. Best I can say is just click around. I tend to find new things once a month. Also notice the difference between the way the House and Senate handle bills. Example: SB180 Note the hearing report for detailed testimony. This bill passed by voice vote and got refereed to Senate Finance. Will have to floor again before going over to the House. HB649. Not as detailed docket until it gets to the Senate. This bill passed by roll call vote and is off to the Senate eventually. See the breakdown of the roll call is always interesting as you can find rogue reps. Luckily Dan Wolf is gone-generally anti 2A R. Other fun things in the Senate Digital Meeting Schedule is their Session Day Packet. Click on the session day and you'll see it. If you do FB and are in Coos County, I'd recommend watching Coös County Politics. The mod is a bit flighty, but is extremely active in local politics. She votes R. TLDR, I'm a nerd interested in keeping NH NH. |
The only thing that keeps the peace are the voices in my head.
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159 was tabled Attached File |
The only thing that keeps the peace are the voices in my head.