Drizzt
Member
The Union Leader (Manchester NH)
June 13, 2003 Friday STATE EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A11
LENGTH: 574 words
HEADLINE: Committee agrees on wording for gun law
BYLINE: By WARREN HASTINGS Concord Bureau
BODY:
CONCORD -- A state Senate/House conference committee agreed yesterday on language members said would clarify a law spelling out the authority of the state to regulate the carrying of firearms.
Others, however, say that if the proposed amendment becomes law, municipal authorities would not be able to ban firearms in their public buildings.
Conferees, meeting in the Legislative Office Building, agreed on language for a Senate amendment on House Bill 415.
The measure would place the regulation of all aspects of firearms sales, permitting and possession under state control, an authority many believe the state already possesses.
What brought the bill to the conference committee was an amendment by Sen. Joseph Foster, D-Nashua, that defined the state's jurisdiction over firearms issues but added a sentence affirming a town's or city's right to regulate firearms businesses the same as they do other businesses.
Foster's amendment also affirmed the right of local authorities to regulate hunting on public property. But the word "altering" in the amendment made the language "fuzzy," said conferee Rep. David Welch, R-Kingston.
"Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting a political subdivision's right to adopt zoning ordinances for the purpose of regulating firearms businesses in the same manner as other businesses or altering a political subdivision's authority to regulate hunting on its property pursuant to RSA 207:59," the Foster amendment said. That statute gives the state exclusive authority over wildlife control issues.
Welch said the conference committee eliminated the word "altering" just to clarify that the state has exclusive authority to regulate firearms. Currently RSA 207:59 says: "Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting a political subdivision's property rights concerning land owned and controlled by that entity."
Nothing in HB 415 stops any town from taking any action allowed them under RSA 207:59, conferees said.
Sam Cohen, a member of the board of directors for Gun Owners of New Hampshire, agreed that the bill only clarifies existing state law governing firearms and that the state has exclusive regulatory authority over them.
Cohen said that if the bill did not pass, lawyers would successfully sue towns allegedly violating the law by instituting weapons bans or police chiefs requiring special applications and fingerprints from local gun owners.
Cohen cited an earlier bill, HB 766, which clarified the law on the issuance of a license to carry a pistol. That law has said for years that no other form shall be used, but some police chiefs were demanding fingerprints and photographs, Cohen said.
Opponents of the amendment say that if the conference committee report is adopted, towns would lose the right to regulate firearms in their buildings even though they retain the right to regulate hunting on their property.
Towns could continue to post their lands for hunting purposes but could not prohibit the carrying of firearms on public property if the bill is enacted, said Maura Carroll, a lobbyist for the New Hampshire Municipal Association.
This has many town employees frightened, she said.
Allowing communities the authority to ban firearms in their own buildings might give municipal employees a better sense of safety and might encourage more people to participate in local government or work for local government, Carroll said.
June 13, 2003 Friday STATE EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A11
LENGTH: 574 words
HEADLINE: Committee agrees on wording for gun law
BYLINE: By WARREN HASTINGS Concord Bureau
BODY:
CONCORD -- A state Senate/House conference committee agreed yesterday on language members said would clarify a law spelling out the authority of the state to regulate the carrying of firearms.
Others, however, say that if the proposed amendment becomes law, municipal authorities would not be able to ban firearms in their public buildings.
Conferees, meeting in the Legislative Office Building, agreed on language for a Senate amendment on House Bill 415.
The measure would place the regulation of all aspects of firearms sales, permitting and possession under state control, an authority many believe the state already possesses.
What brought the bill to the conference committee was an amendment by Sen. Joseph Foster, D-Nashua, that defined the state's jurisdiction over firearms issues but added a sentence affirming a town's or city's right to regulate firearms businesses the same as they do other businesses.
Foster's amendment also affirmed the right of local authorities to regulate hunting on public property. But the word "altering" in the amendment made the language "fuzzy," said conferee Rep. David Welch, R-Kingston.
"Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting a political subdivision's right to adopt zoning ordinances for the purpose of regulating firearms businesses in the same manner as other businesses or altering a political subdivision's authority to regulate hunting on its property pursuant to RSA 207:59," the Foster amendment said. That statute gives the state exclusive authority over wildlife control issues.
Welch said the conference committee eliminated the word "altering" just to clarify that the state has exclusive authority to regulate firearms. Currently RSA 207:59 says: "Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting a political subdivision's property rights concerning land owned and controlled by that entity."
Nothing in HB 415 stops any town from taking any action allowed them under RSA 207:59, conferees said.
Sam Cohen, a member of the board of directors for Gun Owners of New Hampshire, agreed that the bill only clarifies existing state law governing firearms and that the state has exclusive regulatory authority over them.
Cohen said that if the bill did not pass, lawyers would successfully sue towns allegedly violating the law by instituting weapons bans or police chiefs requiring special applications and fingerprints from local gun owners.
Cohen cited an earlier bill, HB 766, which clarified the law on the issuance of a license to carry a pistol. That law has said for years that no other form shall be used, but some police chiefs were demanding fingerprints and photographs, Cohen said.
Opponents of the amendment say that if the conference committee report is adopted, towns would lose the right to regulate firearms in their buildings even though they retain the right to regulate hunting on their property.
Towns could continue to post their lands for hunting purposes but could not prohibit the carrying of firearms on public property if the bill is enacted, said Maura Carroll, a lobbyist for the New Hampshire Municipal Association.
This has many town employees frightened, she said.
Allowing communities the authority to ban firearms in their own buildings might give municipal employees a better sense of safety and might encourage more people to participate in local government or work for local government, Carroll said.
