New Hampshire bill aims to prevent Katrina-style gun seizures

[DKSuddeth]

The bill reads: "Any law enforcement officer, person acting as a law enforcement officer, or other public official who confiscates or attempts to confiscate lawfully carried or lawfully owned firearms in this state during a declared state of emergency
shall be charged with a class A felony."

even if the perpetrators are Federal officers

What kind of power is a state going to find that they have over ANY federal officer?

If the feds deem it necessary, they WILL confiscate arms and no law is going to stop them. There would be only ONE way to prevent confiscation and it involves large numbers and tight groupings.

 

[DadaOrwell2]

Here's the latest: The House Committee hearing the bill has voted 13-5 to recommend that the bill not pass.

However it must still go before the full House on March 7, where such recommendations are sometimes overturned.

Primarily this "no" vote stems from concerns that this would have a chilling affect on a policeman's ability to secure a weapon from a person while trying to determine whether it is "lawfully borne." An amended version may come into play next year that addresses this concern, and in the meantime I understand several other state legislatures have initiated copycat legislation, or at least legislation that is similar. We'll see how these do. It's a start!

 

[DadaOrwell2]

OK here is the latest on this issue...the House bill I originally told you guys about earlier this year got voted down in commitee. However the Senate made a version of their own, soimewhat less controvesial. And New Hampshire's governor has signed it! Yeehaah!!!!!

It becomes law July 14 and makes clear that cops don't get to take our guns during a state of emergency.

Here is an article about it on the Gun Owners of New Hampshire website:


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http://gonh.org/

SB348 "Katrina" Bill Signed by Governor on May 15
the "Katrina" no-emergency-gun-confiscation bill was signed into law on May 15.

The new law, a paragraph added to RSA 4:46 <http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/I/4/4-46.htm> pertaining to the taking of private property during a state of emergency, is as follows:
I-a. Under no circumstances shall this section be construed to authorize the taking, confiscation, or seizure of firearms, ammunition, or ammunition components.

This will go into effect in 60 days, on July 14.
RSA 4:46 <http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/I/4/4-46.htm> has a penalty provision of a Class B felony in paragraph VI:

VI. Any person who willfully takes possession of, or attempts to take possession of, property, purporting to act under this section but without authority to so act, whether by false pretense or otherwise, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a class B felony if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person, and 1/2 of any fine imposed shall be paid to the owner of the property and 1/2 to the county.
In light of the ongoing flooding emergency in our state, this is encouraging news.
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[Devonai]

Sounds good to me.

 

[DadaOrwell2]

bump

The bill-become-law went into effect last month.

On a related note I got one of the Fed Marshalls on the phone who was in New Orleans, but based here in NH. His name is Gary Dimartino, although I may have the spelling wrong. He is a supervisor. Asked him about the wep seizures and specifically the article below.

I told him that I appreciated his return of my phone call and that I knew there were probably many good things that he had done over the last months which I know nothing about, and that I realize there is some unfairness in the fact that I only call to complain, but that I appreciate whatever good he may have done.

I told him I felt New Orleans was an example of a bad thing, and he got kind of excited and said "we did a lot of good things there," he said there might be other things the weren't good but NO was not one of them. I went a week without sleep, he said. I told him I believed him, but that mixed in with the good was some bad stuff. I mentioned to him the sept. 8 2005 washington post article at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/08/AR2005090802089.html

regarding a bar owner in the dry part of NO who had prepared well and had a generator, and an open bar:

"But on Wednesday night, Guidos said, armed federal agents identifying themselves as U.S. marshals confiscated her weapons and ordered her and six friends to leave by noon Thursday.

'When you get 15 M-16s pointed at you and they line you up against the wall, it's kind of scary,' said Guidos, 55."

He denied knowledge of this. I asked him to do whatever was in his power to keep this kind of thing from happening twice.

 

[gezzer]

Should have added or if in NH you will be shot as the felon you will be.