Posted on 01/11/2005 8:04:53 AM PST by robertpaulsen
Governor Craig Benson conducted a ceremonial signing of two important bills that the New Hampshire legislature passed by large margins.
The ceremony was attended by a large number of state legislators, including the sponsors of the bills, senior representatives of the New Hampshire Wildlife Federation and the New Hampshire Sportsmen's Political Action League, New Hampshire-based manufacturers Ruger and SIGarms, the owner of Riley’s Sport Shop, the president of Savage Arms, the state coordinator of Second Amendment Sisters, and the president and several of the directors of Gun Owners of New Hampshire, the state NRA affiliate.
HB 811 makes New Hampshire the 34th state to prohibit politically-motivated, "frivolous" lawsuits against the firearms industry. HB 415 makes New Hampshire the 43rd state to protect its citizens from a patchwork of conflicting local gun-control ordinances that could make it impossible for firearms owners to travel the state without violating the law.
Gun control organizations claim that legislation like HB 811 grants "blanket immunity" to gun manufacturers. This legislation, however — nearly identical to federal legislation that passed the U.S. Congress this spring by a vote of 285 to 140 — stops only those lawsuits based on the illegal use of guns by third parties. Lawsuits based on defective products or illegal actions of a firearms manufacturer or dealer are unaffected. Since 1998, almost 40 cities in the U.S. have filed lawsuits against the firearms industry based on criminal shootings. Gun-rights organizations maintain that these suits are dishonest, promoted by national anti-gun organizations in efforts to bypass the legislative process and use the courts to achieve their aims. They point out that prosecuting attorneys have publicly admitted that they don’t expect to win these suits — which therefore meet the legal definition of "frivolous lawsuit" — but to slowly destroy the firearms industry by forcing companies to incur huge legal defense costs. As expected, none of these suits has succeeded.
Evelyn Logan, Second Amendment Sisters State coordinator, noted that "HB 811 simply recognizes the fact that gun manufacturers are no more liable for gang members shooting each other than car manufacturers are for drunk driving fatalities."
HB 415 reinforces existing state law, under which towns and cities have only the authority granted to them by the state legislature. The New Hampshire legislature has never granted cities and towns control over firearms. HB 415 reaffirms and formalizes state preemption over firearms issues, and nullifies any current town or city ordinances involving firearms. Dr. Stephen King, then President of Gun Owners of New Hampshire, said that "New Hampshire citizens and their elected representatives have historically agreed that self-defense is a fundamental right, and have recognized that gun control disarms only law-abiding citizens without deterring the violent criminal. This position is codified in the New Hampshire Constitution, and is substantiated by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which has consistently ranked New Hampshire among the safest, most crime free, states in the country."
Dr. King continued to say that "New Hampshire is a safe and wonderful place in which to live and raise children. Gun Owners of New Hampshire works to preserve our freedoms and the sought-after quality of life which attract so many visitors and immigrants each year. It is for these reasons we support bills such as HB 415 and HB 811."
Six representatives of the so-called Million Mom March attempted to disrupt the ceremony. Dr. King invited them to a day at the range.
Oh, and ya gotta love the last paragraph.
Still can't believe that Benson was defeated in November.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Yeah, down range.
Hey Lady, stand over there and hold this target for me.
Massachusetts too. Hopefully the Free Staters will keep them in check.
Nice move Dr. King.
L
Vermont is still the state known for the "Vermont carry" law. It can't be all bad.
The democrats also ran a nasty campaign attacking Benson for welcoming the Libertarians, claiming he'd decriminalize prostitution, close the public schools and was for the easing of drug laws. It's funny, because it sounds like the democrats were running on a conservative platform against a "liberal".
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