Contact members of this House committee today and urge them to OPPOSE House Bill 1589
On Tuesday, January 28 at 1:15 p.m., the state House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold an executive session on House Bill 1589, a misguided anti-gun bill which would mandate “universal” background checks. This session will take place in Room 302 of the Legislative Office Building in Concord.
As previously reported, if passed and enacted into law, HB 1589 would criminalize the private sale, transfer or loan of any firearm to anyone outside of the immediate family without a background check from a licensed firearms dealer. This extreme legislation would criminalize commonplace activities such as loaning a rifle to a friend on a hunting trip, allowing a friend to try out your gun at a shooting range or selling your gun to a friend or neighbor - subjecting the transferor to the penalties of a Class B felony.
“Universal” background checks do nothing to reduce violent crime, and will only affect law-abiding gun owners by creating cumbersome mandates and restrictions on the lawful purchase and possession of firearms. Criminals, by definition, violate laws, especially gun control laws. They don’t register their firearms, purchase firearms through licensed dealers or subject themselves to any gun control schemes that only penalize law-abiding citizens. Furthermore, it is already illegal to knowingly sell or transfer a firearm to someone classified as a prohibited person, and is a felony for a prohibited person to buy, own or possess a firearm.
HB 1589 seeks to make drastic and unnecessary changes to current state firearm laws that will impose unduly restrictions on law-abiding citizens rather than addressing the true problems associated with illegal straw purchases – lack of enforcement of current law. In addition, a January 2013 internal U.S. Department of Justice memorandum summarizing so-called “gun violence” prevention strategies states that the effectiveness of “universal background checks” depends on “requiring gun registration.”
Using the contact information provided below, it is vital that you call and/or e-mail members of the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee TODAY and urge them to OPPOSE this HB 1589 when it comes up for a vote.
Representative Edward Butler (D-7), Chairman
Harts Location
(603) 271-3369
[email protected]
Representative Donna Schlachman (D-18), Vice Chairman
Exeter
(603) 772-4934
[email protected]
Representative Chris Muns (D-21), Clerk
Hampton
(603) 929-3629
[email protected]
Representative Angeline Kopka (D-28)
Nashua
(603) 577-5561
Representative Catherine Mulholland (D-17)
Grafton
(603) 523-4497
[email protected]
Representative Joe Scarlotto (D-31)
Portsmouth
(603) 501-1800
[email protected]
Representative Donald Flanders (R-3)
Laconia
(603) 524-5369
[email protected]
Representative Pamela Tucker (R-23)
Greenland
(603) 431-8982
[email protected]
Representative Ralph Doolan (R-1)
Littleton
(603) 259-3187
Representative Kenneth Gidge (D-33)
Nashua
(603) 888-2355
[email protected]
Representative Ruth Heden (D-23)
Milford
(603) 673-7036
[email protected]
Representative Kermit Williams (D-4)
Wilton
(603) 654-7684
[email protected]
Representative Ronald Belanger (R-8)
Salem
(603) 893-0659
[email protected]
Representative Laura Jones (R-24)
Rochester
(603) 948-2264
[email protected]
Representative Emily Sandblade (R-18)
Manchester
(603) 845-3228
[email protected]
Representative Jill Hammond (D-24)
Peterborough
(603) 547-0715
[email protected]
Representative Richard McNamara (D-38)
Hillsborough
(603) 464-0212
[email protected]
Representative John Hunt (R-11)
Rindge
(603) 899-6000
[email protected]
Representative Frederick Rice (R-21)
Hampton
(603) 929-1517
[email protected]
Representative Keith Murphy (R-7)
Bedford
(603) 488-5792
[email protected]