Gun Confiscation Bill Passed Out of Committee
On Wednesday, the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee held an executive session to vote on House Bill 159 – the gun confiscation bill we’ve been warning you about.
Executive Session
During the session, Representative Terry Roy made the excuse for supporting this bill by saying “48 other states already have this law.” What he FAILED to mention is that New Hampshire is SAFER than ALL of those other states, consistently.
He also claimed the mandatory confiscation part was taken out of the bill but that’s simply untrue. It will be left up to the discretion of a judge. During the hearing on the bill, Roy said it would be up to the police, when asked.
When committee member Matt Sabourin dit Choinière brought up that the majority of emails he received were AGAINST this legislation, Roy said that many claimed it is a ‘Red Flag’ bill when it is not. Roy is correct, it is not a traditional Red Flag bill, but it could easily be turned into one if passed.
Amendment
Roy amended the bill and claimed some ‘gun groups’ in NH supported it, but a majority of the 2nd Amendment organizations in NH absolutely DO NOT support this draconian gun control legislation. As with all bad bills, the amendment actually makes it even worse. In the amendment, if you are committed for ANYTHING (not just wanting to harm yourself or others), you can have your guns confiscated.
The bill passed with a recommendation of ‘Ought To Pass’ by a vote of 10-6. The only Republicans to vote for the bill were Roy, Peter Morency, and Brian Valerino (both from Coos County). The remaining Republicans on the committee voted against it. The bill is mostly supported by Democrats and gun controllers (same thing).
Next Steps
The next step for this terrible, anti-2nd Amendment legislation will be for the full NH House of Representatives to vote on it. We’ll keep you posted when that vote comes up so you can contact your representative to ask them to vote in OPPOSITION to it.
Any legislation that is supported by out-of-state gun control lobbyists shouldn’t see the light of day in the ‘Live Free or Die’ State of New Hampshire. Period.
Votes
You can see how the committee members voted below – NOTE: The crossed-out names had substitutes voting for them. Every person who voted to pass the bill is a Democrat aside from Terry Roy, Pete Morency and Brian Valerino (Republicans from Coos County). All three are former law enforcement officers (apparently the ‘feel good bill’ takes precedence over their Oaths of Office) The substitute for Richard Lascelles, a co-sponsor of the bill, voted against it.
