New Hampshire Residents: Please help stop HB1354!

[JellyFish]

If you have a moment, please email and/or call the members of the House Legislative Administration Committee. Contact information is below, they are apparently voting on HB1354 on Thursday of this week.

If this bill passes law-abiding citizens will be prohibited from carrying firearms in the New Hampshire State House or Legislative Office Buildings.

Yep, it's another attack on our right to self-defense and we must stop it from being made into law. Please contact the legislators below and let them know that you are against this attack on liberty.

Contact Information:

Representative Michael Rollo (D-Stafford 2)
Phone: (603) 842-4028
Email: mike.rollo@leg.state.nh.us

Representative Lee Hammond (D-Grafton 11)
Phone: (603) 448-3867
Email: lee.hammond@leg.state.nh.us

Representative Betsy McKinney (R-Rockingham 3)
Phone: (603) 432-5232
Email: betsy.mckinney@leg.state.nh.us

Representative Dana Hilliard (D-Strafford 2)
Phone: (603) 343-4114
Email: sshilliard@hotmail.com

Representative Sarah Hutz (D-Strafford 5)
Phone: (603) 767-0414
Email: sarah.hutz@unh.edu

Representative Charlotte Lister (D+R-Rockingham 7)
Phone: (603) 887-4185

Representative Karen Hutchinson (R-Rockingham 3)
Phone: (603) 434-9415
Email: northernpatriot@aol.com

Representative Dudley Dumaine (R-Rockingham 3)
Phone: (603) 622-2293
Email: buppadan@comcast.net

Representative Christopher Serlin (D-Rockingham 16)
Phone: (603) 436-8184
Email: statehousebusiness@serlin.net

Representative George Katsiantonis (D-Hillsborough 17)
Phone: (603) 785-5567

Representative Michael Reuschel (D-Hillsborough 14)
Phone: (603) 669-7121
Email: michael.reuschel@leg.state.nh.us

Representative Elizabeth Hager (R-Merrimack 12)
Phone: (603) 224-2060
Email: elizabeth.hager@leg.state.nh.us

Representative John Gleason (R-Rockingham 5)
Phone: (603) 432-7279

Representative Roger Hebert (D-Hillsborough 12)
Phone: (603) 621-0170

Representative Nickolas Levasseur (D-Hillsborough 11)
Phone: (603) 782-4862
Email: nickman205@comcast.net

Representative Sandra Smith (D-Hillsborough 9)
Phone: (603) 668-6698
Email: sandra.smith@leg.state.nh.us

Representative Cynthia Dokmo (R-Hillsborough 6)
Phone: (603) 673-0395
Email: cynthia.dokmo@leg.state.nh.us

[JellyFish]

Here are the email addresses in one big clump if you want to paste them into an email:

lee.hammond@leg.state.nh.us, betsy.mckinney@leg.state.nh.us, sshilliard@hotmail.com, sarah.hutz@unh.edu, northernpatriot@aol.com, buppadan@comcast.net, statehousebusiness@serlin.net, michael.reuschel@leg.state.nh.us, elizabeth.hager@leg.state.nh.us, nickman205@comcast.net, sandra.smith@leg.state.nh.us, cynthia.dokmo@leg.state.nh.us

Note that not all of them are on email, there are a few that don't have emails listed. Please also follow up with a call.

[JellyFish]

Here are some arguments against the bill from Pro-Gun NH site (http://www.pgnh.org/legislative_alert_for_hb1354_public_hearing_february_5_2008):

Here are some arguments against the bill:

-- The main argument follows from the well-established legislative question: What problem does this bill solve? Why is it necessary? In fact there have been no misuses of firearms in the State House complex. Representative Jay Phinizy put it this way: "The most convincing argument is that there have been no problems with members of the General Court or the general public; accordingly, is the bill really necessary? It would not be enforceable unless the entire grounds were cordoned off and every citizen were subjected to search. This latter scenario really is not the New Hampshire way, and presumes that the average citizen is not responsible."

-- Unintended consequences: So-called "shooting sprees," including last year's Virginia Tech event, occur precisely where there are gun bans -- which actually attract predators because such places are safe for THEM. Shooting sprees do not occur in police stations or gun clubs. This bill would make the State House and LOB more dangerous, not less.

-- Criminals and mentally disturbed people simply do not pay attention to laws; the only people disarmed are "the good guys" (and women, who need and deserve the right of self-protection even more than men; which legislator is ready to take responsibility for the woman who is harmed by not being able to defend herself?).

-- Many visitors and legislators, including former police officers, are quietly and comfortably armed in the State House complex, protecting both themselves and others. This bill would discourage some people from participating in government. Others would refuse to obey a bad law, and thereby become instant criminals. And bad laws encourage disrespect for all laws.

-- The bill infringes on both the federal and New Hampshire constitutional guarantees of the right to keep and bear arms, and thereby violates those constitutions, which legislators are supposed to uphold.

-- New Hampshire has a large proportion of citizens -- and voters -- motivated by our "Live Free or Die" motto. Any legislator who votes for a restrictive bill -- like mandatory seat belt use, or like this bill -- will invite political enmity among his or her constituents.

-- The bill prohibits knives ("other deadly weapons") as well as guns, but provides only for gun storage. Lots of people have pocketknives in their pockets or purses. This may be a minor point, but it exemplifies the illogic of the bill.

And finally, there is this -- which is only partly tongue-in-cheek: Any legislator who votes for this bill believes that they themselves must be disarmed because they themselves cannot be trusted with a gun. How can such a person be considered competent to serve in the legislature?

[Kat Kanning]

This would be more appropriate on another forum.

[d_goddard]

This bill is as good as dead, thanks to the people that showed up to oppose it.

Now returning you to non-political posts.....