So, the new Democrat majority in the NH General Court (their legislature) is rather like the dog who caught the car: not quite sure what to do with it.
One of the bills that cropped up was SB44, which would have changed the famous NH "shall issue within 14 days" Revolver & Pistol License, into one that was very discretionary if the issuing authority had information from a "reliable source" (undefined), that the applicant was a "terrorist", or "member of a terrorist group". While that was the stated intent, the end result would have been issuing authorities able to deny anyone a license for any reason.
The worst part: under current NH law, if a license is denied, the applicant can appeal to the district court, and if the court rules in the applicant's favor (quite likely), then the person who denied the license must personally pay all court costs and reasonable attorney fees. SB44 would have shifted the burden for paying to the town or county, instead of the individual.
Yeah, that bill went over like a lead balloon.
The legislative committee met on Thursday for debate and public comment on this bill. Here's a report from a friend who was there (he recently escaped from Massachusetts to NH):
It was a glorious morning indeed.
Never in a million years would something like that have happened in Marxachusetts.
The best exchange between the speakers and the committee was when one gentleman was addressing the committee, and asked (and I'm paraphrasing), "Do you know what percentage the people who have come before you here today are carrying a handgun right now?"
To which, Senator Clegg from Hudson replied "Do you know what percentage of people sitting at this table up front are carrying a handgun right now?"
And with that, further discussion was cut short, and the committee voted the bill "inexpedient to legislate", meaning that it's dead for all practical purposes.
I don't hate Texas. But I can't wait to move to NH.
Kevin