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Showdown expected over three gun bills
CONCORD — Gov. John Lynch is expected to say he will veto three bills that would weaken gun laws. Lawmakers are scheduled to take up the bills next week.
The governor, along with police chiefs, sheriffs, state police and higher education officials will urge House members to reject House Bill 334, which would allow guns in classrooms, dorms and public arenas, when he speaks at a news conference Tuesday in the State House.
The bill would give the Legislature the sole authority to regulate guns on any public land or in publicly owned or financed buildings.
As a result, public colleges such as the state university and community college systems would no longer be allowed to ban firearms on their campuses.
Public college officials want lawmakers to exempt their institutions from the bill, but lawmakers have refused to do that.
“I think this would be a huge mistake, considering the age of the students here, and to have some possess firearms would be extremely dangerous,” University of New Hampshire Police Chief Nicholas Halias said earlier this year. “Some students use alcohol and others use drugs, and having any weapon available would be catastrophic.”
The bill would also affect publicly financed buildings such as the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, or the state-owned buildings at Pease International Tradeport, which are leased to private companies, according to the governor’s office.
Concord attorney Penny Dean, who is involved in many Second Amendment issues before the Legislature, said Friday state that law currently prohibits the university system from banning weapons. The university is a subdivision of the state, and like cities and towns, they cannot regulate firearms, she noted; only the state can do that.
Lynch and law enforcement officials will also urge House members to reject HB 536 and HB 194.
House Bill 536 would allow just about anyone to carry a gun without a license, effectively stripping away the permitting process that has been in place for decades, according to the governor’s office.
But Dean said it would simply allow people to carry a gun without a license as people do now in Vermont and Alaska. “They’ve done it for decades in Vermont and nobody complains,” Dean said.
She said the law allows any gun owner who wants to use the reciprocity system with other states to continue to obtain a license, but would do away with the problem of having a police chief block a license when a person has a right to carry a firearm.
HB 194 would repeal a law banning loaded weapons in vehicles, which has been in place for 74 years, said Colin Manning, Lynch’s press secretary. This would dramatically increase risks for accidental discharge, he noted.
Dean said the bill is a good idea. She said everyone carries loaded pistols in their vehicles. “I do not see the difference,” she said. “If it is a public safety issue, then why does every cop in the state do it?”
Last summer Lynch attempted to drum up support for his veto of SB 88, which expanded the legal use of deadly force. Lynch and law enforcement officials toured sections of Nashua and Manchester to highlight some of the bill’s problems, but lawmakers overrode his veto.
The governor, along with police chiefs, sheriffs, state police and higher education officials will urge House members to reject House Bill 334, which would allow guns in classrooms, dorms and public arenas, when he speaks at a news conference Tuesday in the State House.
The bill would give the Legislature the sole authority to regulate guns on any public land or in publicly owned or financed buildings.
As a result, public colleges such as the state university and community college systems would no longer be allowed to ban firearms on their campuses.
Public college officials want lawmakers to exempt their institutions from the bill, but lawmakers have refused to do that.
“I think this would be a huge mistake, considering the age of the students here, and to have some possess firearms would be extremely dangerous,” University of New Hampshire Police Chief Nicholas Halias said earlier this year. “Some students use alcohol and others use drugs, and having any weapon available would be catastrophic.”
The bill would also affect publicly financed buildings such as the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, or the state-owned buildings at Pease International Tradeport, which are leased to private companies, according to the governor’s office.
Concord attorney Penny Dean, who is involved in many Second Amendment issues before the Legislature, said Friday state that law currently prohibits the university system from banning weapons. The university is a subdivision of the state, and like cities and towns, they cannot regulate firearms, she noted; only the state can do that.
Lynch and law enforcement officials will also urge House members to reject HB 536 and HB 194.
House Bill 536 would allow just about anyone to carry a gun without a license, effectively stripping away the permitting process that has been in place for decades, according to the governor’s office.
But Dean said it would simply allow people to carry a gun without a license as people do now in Vermont and Alaska. “They’ve done it for decades in Vermont and nobody complains,” Dean said.
She said the law allows any gun owner who wants to use the reciprocity system with other states to continue to obtain a license, but would do away with the problem of having a police chief block a license when a person has a right to carry a firearm.
HB 194 would repeal a law banning loaded weapons in vehicles, which has been in place for 74 years, said Colin Manning, Lynch’s press secretary. This would dramatically increase risks for accidental discharge, he noted.
Dean said the bill is a good idea. She said everyone carries loaded pistols in their vehicles. “I do not see the difference,” she said. “If it is a public safety issue, then why does every cop in the state do it?”
Last summer Lynch attempted to drum up support for his veto of SB 88, which expanded the legal use of deadly force. Lynch and law enforcement officials toured sections of Nashua and Manchester to highlight some of the bill’s problems, but lawmakers overrode his veto.