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MINUTE MAN ALERT – OPPOSE HB 109-FN AND HB 514-FN

HB 109-FN seeks to limit all “commercial sales” of firearms to only those who possess a federal firearms license. However, the bill defines commercial sales as “a sale, transfer, or exchange of a firearm that takes place at, or on the curtilage of, a firearm or ‘gun’ show or pursuant to an offer to sell, buy, transfer, or exchange a firearm that took place at a gun show, or pursuant to an advertisement, posting, listing, or display”. The bill purports to exempt private sales stating, “This chapter shall not apply to a non-commercial, private sale, transfer, or exchange of a firearm between individuals, provided neither party to the transaction is a prohibited person. If the status of either party’s eligibility to own or possess a firearm cannot be ascertained, the transaction shall be completed through a licensed firearm dealer…” This effectively prevents not only the private sales of firearms but the gifting of firearms altogether. The reality is that no individual has access to either the State or Federal databases that identify prohibited persons and as such, eligibility cannot be ascertained. Therefore, the so-called exception is a red herring because if you just take the buyer or person who is to receive the gift on his/her word and it turns out to be untrue, the seller or giver of the gift is on the hook for a misdemeanor. This hearing is scheduled for 2/13/19 at 1 pm in room 204 in front of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. HB 514-FN seeks to impose a seven working day limitation on firearm and ammunition sales. Working days exclude weekends and holidays. Therefore, if a person purchases a firearm and ammunition the Monday before Thanksgiving, he/she will not be able to pick those items up until 11 days later. An exception applies to those who are seeking to buy a rifle or shotgun and has completed a minimum of a 16-hour hunter safety course offered by the department of fish and game (unless exempted) or a state, county, or municipal law enforcement officer, state or county correctional officer, or an active duty member of the armed forces. Ultimately, this bill is taking the first step toward mandatory training prior to firearm ownership. It first gives you the stick by requiring a mandatory waiting period but will give you the carrot of not having to wait if you voluntarily get trained first. The other exceptions are those who are already armed by the government. This hearing is scheduled for 2/13/19 at 2:30 pm in room 204 in front of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. We urge you to contact members of this committee and inform them of your opposition to these two bills.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE:
Chairman Robert Renny Cushing (D), (603)926-2737, Email: renny.cushing@leg.state.nh.us
Vice Chairman, Beth Rodd (D), (603)938-2692, Email: Beth.Rodd@leg.state.nh.us
Rep. Laura Pantelakos(D), (603)436-2148, Email: lcpantelakos@comcast.net
Rep. Andrew O’Hearne(D), ‪(603)558-1038, Email: Andrew.OHearne@leg.state.nh.us
Rep. Linn Opderbecke(D), (603)742-4119, Email: linn.opderbecke@leg.state.nh.us
Rep. John Bordenet(D), (603)352-0680, Email: John.Bordenet@leg.state.nh.us
Rep. David Meuse(D), (No phone), Email: David.Meuse@leg.state.nh.us
Nancy Murphy(D), (603)424-0254, Email: Nancy.Murphy@leg.state.nh.us
Ray Newman(D), (603)880-8973, Email: Ray.Newman@leg.state.nh.us
Julie Radhakrishnan(D), (603)321-1965, Email: Julie.Radhakrishnan@leg.state.nh.us
Sandy Swinburne(D), (603)876-4173, Email: Sandy.Swinburne@leg.state.nh.us
David Welch(R), (603)642-4402, Email: welch4016@outlook.com
Dennis Fields(R), (603)528-6224, Email: dennis.fields@leg.state.nh.us
John Burt(R), (603)624-5084, Email: john.burt@leg.state.nh.us
Dennis Green(R), (603)234-7776, Email: Dennis.Green@leg.state.nh.usJ
ody McNally(R), (603)330-7655, Email: mcnally_jody_usmc@yahoo.com
Dave Testerman(R), (603)320-9524, Email: dave@sanbornhall.net
Scott Wallace(R), (603)642-6379, Email: Scott.Wallace@leg.state.nh.us
Daryl Abbas(R), (603)560-1929, Email: Daryl.Abbas@leg.state.nh.us

Mitchell W. Kopacz, President, Gun Owners of New Hampshire

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MINUTE MAN ALERT – SUPPORT HB 218 AND HB 282

Despite the overwhelming win by the Democrats in the House, the first two bills affecting the second amendment community do so for the better and GONH will have representatives testifying at both hearings to show our support of these bills. However, we ask that you contact your representatives on this democratic controlled committee to tell them you want these bills to pass as well. Below, please find their contact information.

First, HB 218 (scheduled for January 9th at 2:00 p.m. in room 204) seeks to amend RSA 627:5, II, which currently allows law enforcement officers to use deadly force when effecting an arrest or preventing an escape of certain persons. This amendment will strike the language regarding the use of deadly force when effecting arrests, thereby only allowing the use of deadly force when preventing the escape of certain persons.

Second, HB 282 (scheduled for January 9th at 2:30 p.m. in room 204) seeks to amend RSA 206:26, VI to require Fish & Game officers seeking to effect and stop and/or search to have probable cause and a warrant before doing so. Currently, Fish & Game officers do not have to obtain a warrant and need only meet the lesser burden of articulable suspicion.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE:
Chairman Robert Renny Cushing (D), (603)926-2737, Email: renny.cushing@leg.state.nh.us
Vice Chairman, Beth Rodd (D), (603)938-2692, Email: Beth.Rodd@leg.state.nh.us
Rep. Laura Pantelakos(D), (603)436-2148, Email: lcpantelakos@comcast.net
Rep. Andrew O’Hearne(D), ‪(603)558-1038‬, Email: Andrew.OHearne@leg.state.nh.us‬
Rep. Linn Opderbecke(D), (603)742-4119, Email: linn.opderbecke@leg.state.nh.us
Rep. John Bordenet(D), (603)352-0680, Email: John.Bordenet@leg.state.nh.us
Rep. David Meuse(D), (No phone), Email: David.Meuse@leg.state.nh.us
Nancy Murphy(D), (603)424-0254, Email: Nancy.Murphy@leg.state.nh.us
Ray Newman(D), (603)880-8973, Email: Ray.Newman@leg.state.nh.us
Julie Radhakrishnan(D), (603)321-1965, Email: Julie.Radhakrishnan@leg.state.nh.us
Sandy Swinburne(D), (603)876-4173, Email: Sandy.Swinburne@leg.state.nh.us
David Welch(R), (603)642-4402, Email: welch4016@outlook.com
Dennis Fields(R), (603)528-6224, Email: dennis.fields@leg.state.nh.us
John Burt(R), (603)624-5084, Email: john.burt@leg.state.nh.us
Dennis Green(R), (603)234-7776, Email: Dennis.Green@leg.state.nh.us
Jody McNally(R), (603)330-7655, Email: mcnally_jody_usmc@yahoo.com
Dave Testerman(R), (603)320-9524, Email: dave@sanbornhall.net
Scott Wallace(R), (603)642-6379, Email: Scott.Wallace@leg.state.nh.us
Daryl Abbas(R), (603)560-1929, Email: Daryl.Abbas@leg.state.nh.us

Mitchell W. Kopacz
President
Gun Owners of New Hampshire

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MINUTE MAN ALERT – STOP SB 357 – DIMINISHES THE SECOND AMENDMENT

Image of the Bill of Rights (United States Con...
Image of the Bill of Rights (United States Constitution) cropped to show just the Second Amendment. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In response to the tragedy that occurred in Parkland, Florida, Senator Martha Hennessey of District 5, without notice, offered an unprecedented floor amendment to SB 357 that gives authority to school boards to determine whether to prohibit the possession of firearms in a safe school zone. The effect is that local school boards will have the power to infringe on your Right to Bear Arms.

This bill is not about making schools safer, Senator Hennessey is utilizing the Parkland tragedy to further her goal to diminish the Second Amendment. On the day of the Parkland tragedy, Florida already had statutes prohibiting firearms in school zones. That enabled shooter, Nikolas Cruz, to walk his criminal intentions through the doors of Parkland school and complete his criminal act with the surety that not one person was in a position to defend either themselves or the children.
Senator Hennessey now seeks to provide that same safety to any would-be criminals with similar intent here in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, in Florida the House and Senate are seeking to end gun-free school zones and arm their teachers to deter potential would be attackers and defend against them.
Therefore, while Florida, who have suffered this tragedy seeks to take common-sense measures to deter and defend against these tragedies, Senator Hennessey is seeking to gain momentum in limiting our Right to Bear Arms by capitalizing on the tragedy. Do not allow this to happen. Contact the members of the Senate Education Committee and tell them to vote against SB 357.

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:

Mitchell W. Kopacz
President Gun Owners of New Hampshire
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Home Rule – No Go!

COMING TO A BALLOT BOX NEAR YOU IN NOVEMBER 2018
JUST SAY NO!

BETTER YET – SPEAK UP NOW AND NOT LET IT REACH THE BALLOT BOX AT ALL

            CACR 19 – FN is a proposed amendment to the New Hampshire Constitution that purports to give the people the right to govern by enacting local laws that protect health, safety, and welfare.  Sounds good – right?  Why oppose self-governance?  Keep reading!

It actually does not provide you, the individual, with self-governance.  In fact, it empowers your local county, municipality, town, or city government, under the guise of protecting health, safety, and welfare, to enact local laws recognizing or establishing your rights of a natural person, the rights of your community and the rights of nature.  It also further expands the local government’s proposed given power to secure those rights by using prohibitions and other necessary means, including measures to establish, define, alter, or eliminate competing rights, powers, privileges, immunities, or duties of corporations and other business entities operating, or seeking to operate, in the community.

Rights are unalienable!  They are not gifted by any Constitution, law, government or community.  They are incapable of being alienated, surrendered or transferred.  Yet, this Constitutional amendment seeks to change all that by presupposing that local governments should be tantamount to fiefdoms with their own set of laws and lords to rule upon them creating a need for travelers to carry a legislative roadmap to navigate the patchwork landscape of local rule.  While the proposed Constitutional amendment claims to enable local government to secure those rights, it does so through prohibition and other necessary means.  Exactly what is “other necessary means”?  Public shaming?  Stockades?  Banishment?

This Constitutional amendment further enables the local governmental body to establish, define, alter or eliminate competing rights while simultaneously creating competition to our unalienable rights by establishing rights for the community and nature.  While the Constitutional amendment specifically states that local laws cannot weaken or constrict our fundamental rights, it likewise specifies the same protections for the rights to be given to the community and nature.  The take away is that our unalienable rights are to be on equal footing with the rights given to nature and the community.

Communal rights are not a foreign concept.  The problem is that when communal rights are pitted against individual rights, it has never faired well for the individual – calling to mind the Salem witch trials.  Another example is when the community is given the right to quiet enjoyment of all property within the town.  Shooting is loud.  Now your right to bear arms is in competition with the communal right to quiet enjoyment.  The governmental body can enact a law prohibiting shooting within the fiefdom including upon the land you own, but perhaps you won’t be burned at the stake, assuming your right against cruel and unusual punishment remains intact.

Nature having rights, that is new.  This creates a problem when, by way of example, the local governmental body establishes that all fish and game have a right to life.  Since the governmental body can alter or eliminate competing rights – hunting and fishing could be outlawed and perhaps you will be convicted of murdering that Thanksgiving turkey or the Christmas ham.  Or maybe that pesky deer who eats your arborvitaes will be given the right to the pursuit of happiness and you must let him feast away at your expense, depending on the will of your fiefdom, but then you can just move elsewhere and not have such concerns.  However, your decision of where to live would no longer be limited by taxes alone, you would have to consider the local laws as well.

Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it and it appears the sponsors of this bill know nothing of the dark ages.  However, this Constitutional amendment is correct in stating that all government of right originates from the people and is founded in their consent.  Do not consent.  Reach out to your Senators and Representatives to stop it before it reaches the ballot box.

 

Mitchell Kopacz
President
Gun Owners of New Hampshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Minuteman Alert: Contact the Representatives of the Municipal and County Government Committee

CACR 19-FN

Gun Owners of New Hampshire, Inc. – Official·Friday, February 16, 2018

Please contact the Representatives of the Municipal and County Government Committee and ask them to ITL CACR 19-FN. You can contact them collectively via email at HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us ; or individually at:

James Belanger (R) at jim.belanger@leg.state.nh.us

Franklin Sterling (R) at fwsterling@comcast.net

Mark McLean (R) at mark.mclean@leg.state.nh.us

Frank McCarthy (R) at serendipity922@gmail.com

Carolyn Matthews (R) at Carolyn.Matthews@leg.state.nh.us

Richard Tripp (R) at richard.tripp@leg.state.nh.us

Bruce Tatro (D) at bruce.tatro@leg.state.nh.us

John Bordenet (D) at John.Bordenet@leg.state.nh.us

Timothy Josephson (D) at Timothy.Josephson@leg.state.nh.us

Debra DeSimone (R) at debra.desimone@leg.state.nh.us

Francis Gauthier (R) at fgauthier1776@gmail.com

Vincent Paul Migliore (R) at vpmigliore@leg.state.nh.us (bill sponsor)

Jane Beaulieu (D) at Jane.Beaulieu@leg.state.nh.us

David Meader (D) at meader281@gmail.com

Steven Rand (D) at rstevenrand@yahoo.com (bill sponsor)

Francis Chase (R) at CHD5100@outlook.com

Brian Stone (R) at brian03261@gmail.com

Clyde Carson (D) at Clyde.Carson@leg.state.nh.us

Susan Treleaven (D) at streleaven@comcast.net

Julie Gilman (D) at gilmanjd@comcast.net.