New Hampshire: 2020 Legislative Session to Convene with Firearm Seizure Bill

[Charlie T Waite]

On January 8^th, the New Hampshire General Court will begin the 2020 legislative session. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on several retained bills, including House Bill 687, which would take away the constitutional rights of individuals without due process. Please contact your Representative and urge them to OPPOSE HB 687. Click the “Take Action” button below to contact your Representative.

House Bill 687, sponsored by Representative Debra Altschiller (D-Rockingham 19), would allow ex parte orders that would suspend Second Amendment rights without adequate due process. Further, if the order is vacated after an individual surrendered their firearms, that individual will have to go to court to have their property returned, unlike when the court wrongfully takes them away. Knowingly filing a false claim is only a misdemeanor, while violating an order is a Class B felony, punishable by three and a half to seven years of imprisonment. This extreme difference in punishments could lead to false accusations against many law-abiding individuals. 

Constitutional rights should only be restricted with sufficient due process of law. Due process limits restrictions on constitutional rights to only serious convictions and adjudications that provide procedural protections to the accused, which results in more reliable proceedings. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms should not be treated as a second-class right and should only be restricted when sufficient protections are in place.

Please click the “Take Action” button above to contact your Representative and urge them to OPPOSE HB 687. 

Your NRA will continue to fight to promote and protect your right to keep and bear arms and hunting heritage. Our members remain the most powerful political force in American history, and together, we will secure the Second Amendment for present and future generations.