nedisabledsportsmen.com

[bachilds]

Debaters aim sights on gun ban
By KEVIN LANDRIGAN
Staff Writer

CONCORD – Gun rights advocates spent more than three hours Monday urging a legislative committee to undo the ban on firearms and dangerous weapons in the Statehouse and adjourning buildings.

The polite but firm tone from witnesses came in response to the Dec. 21 decision of the Joint Committee on Legislative Facilities Committee to adopt a firearms/weapons ban without advance notice or public hearing.

After a series of Statehouse protests, House and Senate Democratic leaders agreed to reconsider the action, permit testimony, reaffirm the vote in January and then let ex-House Speaker Gene Chandler, R-Bartlett, bring in a bill after legislative deadlines to undo the ban.

Those who showed up to speak or be recorded against the gun ban outnumbered supporters by a margin of eight to one.

“This is a decision that should be made by the whole Legislature and not just a few people,” Chandler said.

Laura Andoscia of Nashua belongs to a pro-liberty group she called the Nashua 9/12 Project, named for the day that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist hijacking of jet airliners.

Terrorist acts or multiple murders do take place in buildings where the criminals know citizens are unarmed, she warned.

“This government is at war and government property has been targeted in that war,” Andoscia said.

“The fact is, when guns are banned, people die.”

The ban lets only licensed law enforcement to possess a gun or dangerous weapon in the Statehouse, Legislative Office Building or State House Annex Building across the street.

Supporters note the language is similar to a ban on gun or weapon possession in effect from 1996-2006, a decade during which Republicans held a solid majority in the House.

Chandler insisted the earlier ban was never enforced. Records on how the earlier policy came about in 1996 have never been found, and once it came to light, GOP leaders repealed it.

House and Senate legislative leaders said what sparked this latest ban was when gun-toting opponents began yelling loudly in the gallery of Representatives Hall a year ago.

The House had killed a resolution affirming state rights the activists supported.

State Rep. Gary Richardson, D-Hopkinton, said the loud display intimidated him even as a longtime gun owner who served in the military.

“It only takes one disturbed individual to spark an incident that all of us would regret,” Richardson said.

Former State Sen. and lobbyist Robert Clegg of Hudson was sitting in the House gallery that day. Clegg insisted the only personal threats were verbal epithets on the political futures of House members who voted to kill the resolution.

Clegg said he faced death threats during the 2008 presidential campaign when he challenged the patriotism of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.

According to Clegg, law enforcement officials encouraged Clegg to remind anyone who lodged a threat that he carried a weapon.

“When you let people know you are carrying, that diffuses a lot of situations,” Clegg said. “That’s what you are taking away.”

Patrick Lozito worked as a licensed gunsmith in New York City until moving his family to Claremont 15 months ago.

Banning firearms makes the public less safe, Lozito warned.

“The more the perception is that people are armed, the safer this place is going to be,” Lozito said. “I would not want to see New Hampshire turn to a New York mentality.”

But Carol Backus, retired spokeswoman for the National Education Association of New Hampshire, said permitting gun possession throughout the Statehouse complex would be alarming since 17,000 schoolchildren visit each year.

“We ought to have in place a system that assures safety for children and peace of mind for parents who let them visit the Statehouse,” Backus said.

Some Second Amendment advocates called Chandler’s bill flawed in drafting and complained that it would leave in place a House rule that lets only law enforcement possess guns inside the legislative chamber and adjourning rooms.

“This may not go as far as some people want to go, and I respect that,” Chandler said.

“In my opinion, what we used to have before December worked. This bill takes us back there.”

Kevin Landrigan can be reached at 321-7040 or klandrigan@nashuatelegraph.com.
_________________
Brian Childs Administrator
New England Disabled Sportsmen
http://nedisabledsportsmen.com/
Pass the word on to your friends that we are here. Everyone is welcome