PA Bill Number: SB99
Title: In county boards of elections, further providing for expenses of county boards and of primaries and elections to be paid by county, expenses of ...
Description: In county boards of elections, further providing for expenses of county boards and of primaries and elections to be paid by county, expenses of ... ...
Last Action: Re-referred to APPROPRIATIONS
Last Action Date: May 8, 2024
Constitutional Carry Update: NH House approves repealing concealed handgun permit requirement :: 04/30/2015
CONCORD — A person would no longer be required to have a permit to carry a concealed weapon in New Hampshire, under a bill the House passed Wednesday, but Gov. Maggie Hassan said she would veto it.
Senate Bill 116 would repeal the requirement to obtain a permit from a local law enforcement official to carry a concealed pistol or revolver.
The House voted 212-150 to approve the bill, which is slightly different from the Senate passed version.
The Senate will have to decide if the change is acceptable or if the House and Senate will negotiate a compromise.
Before the House voted on SB 116, Hassan told members of the N.H. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America she would veto the bill when they delivered hundreds of postcards urging her to block it.
Neither the House nor the Senate votes on SB 116 were by the two-thirds margin needed to override the governor’s veto.
“New Hampshire’s current concealed carry permitting law has worked well for nearly a century — ensuring the Second Amendment rights of our citizens while helping to keep the Granite State one of the safest states in the nation,” Hassan said. “Law enforcement, as well as citizens across New Hampshire, have strong public safety concerns about allowing people to carry concealed guns without a license and oppose removing the protections that the licensing process offers to help ensure that potentially dangerous individuals are not allowed to carry hidden weapons.”
Hassan’s office released a letter from the New Hampshire police chiefs association asking her to veto the bill.
“This bill undermines common-sense public safety measures related to the carrying of concealed handguns in New Hampshire,” writes association president Enfield Police Chief Richard Crate Jr. “Without a licensing process, we will no longer have the ability to prevent individuals who are known to pose a danger to themselves or others from carrying a concealed handgun.”
The state GOP blasted Hassan for threatening to veto the bill.
“Law abiding Granite Staters already have the right to carry, but need to ask permission to carry in their cars, under a jacket, or in a purse. Too often, local officials deny or delay permits for no good reason, denying people the basic right to self-defense,” said state GOP chair Jennifer Horn. “This common sense, bipartisan legislation would address this issue and only apply to New Hampshire residents who already have the right to own or possess firearms. It would not change laws prohibiting criminals from carrying firearms.”
After the vote in favor of the bill, Michelle Levell, chair of the board of the Women’s Defense League of NH, said the bill would help women. Under current law, if a women is threatened and wants a concealed weapon, she has to go to her local police chief for a permit, which amounts to a “14-day de facto waiting period,” she said.
What is the woman supposed to do, Levell asked, hide in her home for two weeks or risk being the victim of domestic violence?
She said the bill would end the de facto waiting period.
But opponents said most state residents believe the current system works and do not support repealing the permit requirement.
“This bill is the result of some legislators going well beyond what the voting population thinks is acceptable to appease some outside interest,” said Rep. Geoffrey Hirsh, D-Bradford. “This does not represent the will of the voters who put us here.”
Anyone prohibited under federal law from having a firearm such as a felon, someone under a domestic violence restraining order or a person with serious mental illness, would continue to be banned from possessing a weapon if the bill is approved.
The Senate will decide what action to take on the bill next month.
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150430/NEWS0621/150439934
