In New Hampshire, no license is required to carry a firearm openly; it is fairly simple to obtain a license to carry a handgun concealed. The number of concealed carry licenses is unknown. Statewide records are only kept for out of state permits.
The bill requires that people be unarmed while voting. It requires that they not “control” any firearm while voting, thus forbidding them from leaving their firearm(s) locked in their car. From the bill at legiscan .com:
I. No person shall knowingly carry a loaded or unloaded pistol, revolver, firearm, or other deadly weapon as defined in RSA 625:11, V, whether open or concealed, or whether licensed or unlicensed, upon the person or within any of the person’s possessions owned or within the person’s control at a polling place during a federal, state, or municipal election.
II. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class B felony.
It’s never been illegal to carry weapons to polling places in New Hampshire. If a single instance of abuse had occurred, it would have been mentioned at seacoastonline.com:
Additionally, he warned, some residents might carry weapons to the polls, which is legal under state law.
“We are going to follow the law,” Selig said. “As long as nobody is being threatening toward anyone else with their weapons, it’s a non-issue. We are just making sure everyone is safe.”
None of the commenters at the site were able to find a single instance of abuse, either.
The safety of carrying weapons to the polls has never been an issue. The intent of the legislation seems clear: discourage people who exercise their Second Amendment rights from voting.
Second Amendment supporters tend to be 3.7 times as likely to be Republicans as Democrats, 82% to 22%, according to Pew. This legislation is an attempt to suppress the Republican vote.
©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Yeah, well, the US has a long history of voter suppression at the polls through the use of armed ‘citizens’ making sure that only whites voted, or that votes were cast only for their own candidate.Hence laws disarming voters within a certain distance of the polls. Other laws forbade drinking because of the ubiquitous practice of buying votes with alcohol (and/or money), and for the same reason forbade electioneering within “x” feet of a polling place. So in some places, such laws make sense. But probably not for New Hampshire. Or Vermont. Or Maine.
Yeah. White people suppressing the vote in Philly. I remember that. Wait. No I don’t.
Given the 101% turnout rate in some neighborhoods I don’t think white people are suppressing any voting in Philly.
The dead are not easily intimidated.
I didn’t say everywhere. It was common south of the Mason-Dixon line after blacks, who had had no voting rights, were granted them by the 14th Amendment. Terrorist threats and abusive “citizenship” or “literacy” exams were used to prevent blacks, who had a majority, from voting. The Voting Rights Act of the 1960s was the first successful inroad into these racist practices.
“abusive ‘citizenship’ or ‘literacy’ exams were used to prevent blacks, who had a majority, from voting.”
You mean to tell me the government erected bureaucratic hurdles with the intention of discouraging citizens from exercising their civil rights? I wonder if there are any other examples of that type of behavior by our government.
We watched two morons with clubs stand outside a polling place in Philly and threaten white voters and our DOJ did nothing about it.
Next time we’ll just take care of it and send the hospital bills to the state.
I am sure it happened in the South, but I am pretty sure the armed men were Democrat Sheriffs and Democrat police. The disarming of the opposition in the North started with the Sullivan law in New York, pushed and passed by “Big Tim” Sullivan, of Tammany Hall, to disarm the opposition.
Yes, Democrats have a long history of suppressing votes with violence. Whether in the historical instances you cite, or thugs at the polls today, or using the police to enforce laws like this in the possible future, they are certainly badly behaved. However, I think the answer is to prosecute the criminal conspiracy in question.
So the democrats see armed citizens voting as a problem?
How many incidents can they cite of problems? Or did someone get their panties in a bunch when they saw someone’s piece last november in the booth?
In Switzerland you can bring your sword when voting to show that you’re a free man:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landsgemeinde
Plus you get to drink copious amounts of beer. Now that’s Democracy.
More Democratic Party political theater. It will not pass. And how would it be enforced, especially regarding leaving a gun in the car? Not likely. Not possible. Given that NH is an open carry state, historically conservative, would anyone even report a person carrying openly in a polling place? Doubtful outside of select cities and college towns. If it were to pass and you lived in one of those towns, concealed is concealed.
“historically conservative”??? Hmmm… not anymore…. The southern NH infestation of liberal Massholes had poisoned the state……All the big cities in the state are chocked full of liberal former MA residents who vote for big gov’t social programs in MA; then move north when they get the tax bill for all that shit they voted for…. They move north, then vote for the same socialist shit and asswipe (D) politicians…. Look at the latest (D) senator the voters put in Washington…. A Boston raised and educated Masshole…… Comes up and gets elected governor, then defeats the incumbent Female GOP Senator (albeit in a very close race)…. Now two liberal female asswipe senators, and another liberal female asswipe congresswoman…. Plus, NH went for Hillary, and Obama…. Southern NH has become just another drug infested 2nd bunghole suburb of Boston; overrun by drug dealers and welfare cheats from Lowell, Lawrence, and Worcester, MA….. Just look at all the drug ring busts in Nashua (“Trashua”), and “Manchester-stan”; all either “residents of”, or “formerly of” the above mentioned Masshole cities…. The only silver lining to this dark cloud is a solid GOP majority in the legislature, and GOP Governor.
How about we counter with a law that requires women to wear bras at the polling place.
Actually, the equivalent would be a law prohibiting women from wearing bras at the polls.
I think a law requiring each voter carry a firearm would also adequately expose the hypocrisy.
Missouri 571.107. 1. [SHALL NOT CARRY] (2) Within twenty-five feet of any polling place on any election day. Possession of a firearm in a vehicle on the premises of the polling place shall not be a criminal offense so long as the firearm is not removed from the vehicle or brandished while the vehicle is on the premises;
[BUT FOR PERSONS WITH A CCW PERMIT] shall not be a criminal act but may subject the person to denial to the premises or removal from the premises. If such person refuses to leave the premises and a peace officer is summoned, such person may be issued a citation for an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars for the first offense.
There you go, model legislation.
Not even close to “model legislation.” Any use of a firearm to intimidate anyone for any reason is likely already a crime, most commonly known as “brandishing”. There is never a need to make it “more of a crime” at specific locations or for specific events.
I WILL take my personal firearm with me when I vote. Period.
Why? In case someone is standing at the polling place and threatening me with great bodily harm or death if I try to go in and cast my ballot.
Anyone who seeks to disarm me at the polls seeks to prevent me from voting.
You don’t think the local PD can do something about that? Why not? Anyone who commits such acts is a criminal.
Wanted to read the seacoastonline.com link. But it sucks and is fail.
Seriously, Dean? You think New Hampshire hoplophobes really expect pro-2A voters would stay home because the polling place is a GFZ?
Northeastern liberals are stupid, but not that stupid. It’s just more of the same. They just want to make life inconvenient for the gun owners they hate, and that’s all this would accomplish.
I voted in NH last November with a handgun on my hip. Concealed. No problems. I just showed my ID, received a ballot, and voted my conscience. Voting is schools is a problem, but my town votes in the town hall.
The fight for you rights never ends. The communist, Fascist, socialist, progressive, and liberal want you to be slaves.
Time for the DemoCRAPPIC Party to come an End! To be placed in the “Toliet of History alone with the Obummer legacy…And Flushed into the annals of History ! ” Charmin, or Cottonelle anyone?
PS: Still waiting for the 2nd Amendment Coalition to free the 2nd amendment rights of US citizens living in NY, Connecticut, NJ, MD. , Massachusett$, California, etc… Let’s make it so that every American can exercise their civil rights free from government, police,or Private organization infringements…..
Stop waiting for someone else to swoop in and rescue you.
Your rights were stolen by the representatives YOUR neighbors voted into office. Take some responsibility for your life and start doing something to roll-back those infringements instead of whining and expecting the rest of us to save you.