Feb. 15—CONCORD — During a lengthy debate, the state Senate turned aside bills to close the state’s background check loophole, make it easier for a judge to confiscate the guns of someone considered to be dangerous and to create a waiting period to buy a firearm.
State Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, said all three were common sense gun control measures in response to the rising rate of New Hampshire citizens who commit suicide with a gun and the number of mass shooting incidents across the country.
She said the state’s suicide by gun rate is the 12th highest in the country.
“Can each of you take a courageous vote to protect their loved one,” Altschiller asked at one point Thursday.
State Sen. Daryl Abbas, R-Salem, said New Hampshire is one of the safest states in the country and large cities as well as states that have these gun control measures have much higher violent crime rates.
“These bills from our Democrat colleagues send the wrong message to gun owners given our state’s long-standing culture of responsible gun ownership,” Abbas said.
“We should trust our residents and not pass laws that create additional and unnecessary restrictions on the constitutional rights of our Granite Staters.”
The Senate killed the measures by identical 14-9 votes with all Senate Republicans in opposition and Senate Democrats in support.
Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, D-Portsmouth, was absent from Thursday’s session.
Kathleen Slover, a volunteer with the New Hampshire chapter of Moms Demand Action, said these gun control measures remain more popular than ever before here.
“The 2024 elections are less than a year away and the gun violence prevention movement is stronger than ever and we are prepared to vote in lawmakers who will make our safety their first priority,” Slover said in a statement.
There’s little doubt that both sides of this debate will use these votes as campaign fodder this fall.
The three bills were:
—Red Flag Law (SB 360): Permit law enforcement or a family member to petition a court to confiscate guns of someone at risk of harming themselves or others;
—Background Check Loophole (SB 571): This would require background checks prior to all gun sales; currently they aren’t required for guns bouth at gun shows, online or from unlicensed gun dealers.
—Waiting Period (SB 577): This would make someone wait 72 hours before someone buying a gun could pick it up. Trained hunters and those who express a fear for their personal safety would have been exempt from the waiting period.
A year ago, the House of Representatives, with its narrow GOP majority, killed very similar proposals.
[email protected]