New Hampshire: Firearm Seizure Bill to be Heard

[Charlie T Waite]

On March 5^th, the New Hampshire state House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will hold a hearing on House Bill 687, which would take away the constitutional rights of individuals without due process.  Please contact committee members and urge them to OPPOSE House Bill 687.  Click the “Take Action” button below to contact members of the committee.   

House Bill 687, sponsored by Representative Debra Altschiller (D-Rockingham 19), would allow for the issuance of ex parte orders that would suspend Second Amendment rights following baseless accusations without adequate due process protections.

Further, if the order were vacated after an individual surrendered their firearms, that individual would have to present themselves in court to have their property returned, unlike when the court wrongfully took them away.  On top of that, because law enforcement has immunity for any damage done to the firearms while in their possession, there is no incentive for them to care for the personal property in their custody that was wrongfully seized and can sometimes be priceless.

On top of all this, knowingly filing a false order is only a misdemeanor, while violating an order is a Class B felony, punishable by three and half to seven years of imprisonment.  Such an extreme difference in punishments could lead to false accusations against many law-abiding individuals. 

If you are able to, please attend this hearing to testify against this bill at 10:00 AM in Legislative Office Building Room 204.  Also, please click the “Take Action” button above to contact members of the committee and urge them to OPPOSE House Bill 687.