Free Republic

Found this over on DefDist’s twitter feed, and it appears to be a Liberator printed in New Hampshire. The first of many, I’d bet.

Two very different pictures are emerging of what took place this weekend at a series of townhall meetings by Kelly Ayotte, the Republican senator from New Hampshire.Ayotte traveled back to the Granite State to meet with constituents, and among the topics that came up were her votes against new gun control measures. But local and national news media are giving sharply contrasting accounts of what really happened when the gun control issue surfaced.If you read about the meetings in the national press, you likely went away thinking the Republican lawmaker was overwhelmed by pro-gun control critics. You might think the opposite if...

Before Congress enacts any new gun control laws, the nation’s law enforcement officers and courts should better enforce the regulations they have on the books now, according to U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte. In a meeting with the Telegraph editorial board, New Hampshire’s junior senator took aim last month at the national background check system, which does not go far enough prosecuting those who illegally try to obtain weapons, she said. "Of approximately 80,000 in 2012 that were denied (a gun) because of a background check … only 44 people were prosecuted for that," Ayotte said during the February 19 meeting.

A New Hampshire police group that plans to raffle 31 guns in May received this offer from an alarmed critic of the giveaway: He would raise $30,000, buy all the guns, and bring them to his local police station to be destroyed. Another critic floated an idea to have the guns melted, turned into jewelry, and sold to help victims of gun violence. But the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police plans to proceed with the raffle, citing fears of a lawsuit from disgruntled ticket-buyers.

CONCORD – Flags, signs and guns filled the Statehouse steps Thursday afternoon as hundreds of residents from across New Hampshire gathered to rally for gun rights. In the wake of last month’s shooting in Newtown, Conn., politics have distracted lawmakers at the state and federal level, helping them to forget about individual liberties and constitutional freedoms, speakers and supporters argued throughout the event. But, with the right to bear arms in jeopardy, gun advocates vowed to remind legislators of their responsibility to the Constitution. “All of us know we are at a crossroads in our country,” event organizer Jack Kimball,...

What do you do when you are an assistant professor at a public university and you’ve been caught red-handed retweeting a tweet advocating murder? If you’re University of Rhode Island professor Erik Loomis, you delete your entire Twitter account ... We’re glad he won’t be advocating violence on Twitter any longer. Hopefully, he will use the freed-up time to seek help from a mental health professional. * * * Update: What exactly is Loomis hiding? Before he deleted his Twitter account, we managed to make note of a few of his angrier tweets

At a community meeting in Bedford Thursday, a resident asked the police chief under what circumstances a resident could use lethal force against a burglar. "Say you're asleep, you hear a noise, glass breaks, you hear somebody in there, you know they don't belong," said the resident, who didn't provide his name. "Are you expected to ascertain whether they're armed if you have the ability to take them out legally?" Joking that he's not a lawyer but has been accused of being one, Chief John Bryfonski sidestepped the question, saying it's inappropriate for him to provide a legal opinion. "The...

NASHUA — Following a storm of controversy in light of her criminal background, the first openly transgendered person elected to the New Hampshire House will resign her post. “I didn't want to have to do this,” Rep.-elect Stacie Marie Laughton, D-Nashua, said. “There's been a lot of people that have said, 'Stay strong, keep your head up, stay in it.'” “I'm super disappointed because I was looking forward to this more than anything. It's my lifelong dream to serve my community, and what better place to do it than the city that I was born and raised in.”

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — There's a new superpower growing in the Great Plains and the South, where bulging Republican majorities in state capitols could dramatically cut taxes and change public education with barely a whimper of resistance from Democrats. Contrast that with California, where voters have given Democrats a new dominance that could allow them to raise taxes and embrace same-sex marriage without regard to Republican objections. If you thought the presidential election revealed the nation's political rifts, consider the outcomes in state legislatures. The vote also created a broader tier of powerful one-party governments that can act with...

Hidden in among all the recent election news was the defeat of NH State Representative Jenn Coffey (R-Merrimack) who had led the successful fight to reform New Hampshire's knife laws. Coffey, the winner of Blade Magazine's 2011 Publisher's Award, had sponsored the bill that removed penalties for both possession and selling switchblades, dirks, daggers, and stilettos. Her bill which passed and was signed by the governor of New Hampshire changed the emphasis from the tool to the crime. In addition, Coffey is the National Legislative Director for the Second Amendment Sisters. She has written a book, Knives, Lipstick, and Liberty...

Pro-Gun New Hampshire General Counsel, attorney Evan Nappen, has won a significant court case involving concealed carry licensing in New Hampshire. His client was denied a NH non-resident carry license solely due to a 34 year old misdemeanor marijuana conviction received when he was 18 years old. The State was stubbornly enforcing their administrative rule (which, by the way, has no basis in law) that makes any misdemeanor conviction for drugs an automatic denial. In the article published a week ago on this website, attorney Nappen announced a public hearing on changing the NH Department of Safety’s rules for denial...

New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) conducted a gubernatorial debate on 19 September 2012. One of the questions had to do with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), an effort to limit greenhouse gases by auctioning CO2 allowances (sounds like cap and trade to me). Republican Ovide Lamontagne favors repeal of RGGI, while Democrat Maggie Hassan favors keeping it. Watch and listen to their answers at about 32 minutes into the debate. They are in a lightning round, with a ten-second limit to answers. Ms. Hassan's answer, from the previously linked video, follows: ***** "I was proud to be a sponsor...

Click on each state for survey details. Totals may not add up to 100% because of rounding.

Mitt Romney now trails by only 6 points in New Hampshire, according to a new poll released Tuesday evening. The latest WMUR Granite State poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, shows President Barack Obama leading Romney among likely voters, 47 percent to 41 percent. Obama held a 15-point lead in last week's Granite State poll, which was conducted Sept. 27-30. The latest poll was conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 6, with 57 percent of the responses coming before the Oct. 3 presidential debate in Denver. As has been the case with other post-debate polling shifts, Obama has seen...

A middle schooler's science project was so alarming to a Manchester, N.H., man that he called police after the contraption landed on his driveway. Eighth-grader Jack Miron of nearby Walton, N.H., had a grand idea for a science project. The Pine Hill Waldorf student rigged a box that included a video camera, weather recording equipment, flags and a beeping device onto a weather balloon, WMUR reports. He and his mother launched it from Bedford, N.H., to see what it could record.

EPPING, N.H. (AP) — Authorities say a New Hampshire woman has been arrested four times in 26 hours for blasting the AC/DC song ‘‘Highway to Hell’’ and other loud music from her home and for throwing a frying pan. Police first issued a warning to Joyce Coffey on Tuesday afternoon at her home in Epping. They say they were called back an hour later and arrested her for the loud music.

The man who attracted local attention when he carried a pistol into a Hanover theater Monday night said his actions had nothing to do with the gunman in Colorado three days before that killed 12 movie-goers and wounded 58. Ryan Ruby, 27, of Littlestown, said he wasn't trying to make a point or draw attention to himself when he went to see "The Dark Knight Rises" openly carrying his pistol. For him, he said, it was habit. Ruby said he's been carrying a firearm openly for about two years. He goes to the movie theater in Hanover at least once...

PETERBOROUGH — A gun club official says members are doing all they can to be considerate of their neighbors. The Monadnock Rod and Gun Club will most likely not make any changes after receiving a letter from selectmen asking it to be quieter, said Mark Carbone, chairman of the board of directors. Neighbors recently brought their concerns to town officials about noise levels at the shooting range increasing in recent years. Town officials said they could not make the gun club change its activities because it has not done anything illegal. But selectmen sent a letter last week requesting the...

By CRAIG N. LIADIS New Hampshire Union Leader A Leominster, Mass., police officer is under investigation to determine whether he called Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford a racial slur during a New Hampshire Fisher Cats game in Manchester last week. Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella confirmed that an investigation is ongoing and that the officer, who was not identified, has been assigned to desk duty. “We received tips earlier in the week identifying the person,'' Mazzarella said. Fisher Cats President Rick Brenner isn't concerned where the individual is from. “I don't want to get into a border war,” Brenner said....

BOSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling dismissing a lawsuit filed by a Massachusetts woman whose son was killed during a botched robbery at a New Hampshire Army surplus store. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the owner of the gun used in the July 2007 shooting at the Army Barracks store in Conway, N.H. was not negligent.

With all the buzz and anticipation surrounding the final rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court the past week, there has been little attention to an interesting legal development in New Hampshire: On June 18, Governor John Lynch (no relation) signed HB 146 into law and it becomes effective on January 1, 2013. HB 146 concerns “the right of a jury to judge the application of the law in relationship to the facts in controversy.” It’s popularly known as “the jury nullification bill.” In this post, I will try to explain what impact this new law may have in the New...

The New Hampshire legislature on Wednesday overrode Gov. John Lynch’s veto of a voter ID bill, making it the latest state to require that voters present photo identification at the polls. Under Senate Bill 289, which takes effect this September, a variety of identification forms will be acceptable, or residents can sign an affidavit at the polling site to vote. In September 2013, however, that list will be shortened — student ID cards and documents more than 5 years old, for example, will no longer be valid — and voters who prefer to sign affidavits will have to have their...

Obama, on ice cream run, orders hot fudge sundae and offers to treat shop patronsBy Alicia M. Cohn - 06/25/12 04:36 PM ET President Obama made an ice cream run to a local shop in New Hampshire on Monday between campaign stops, recording a birthday greeting and offering to treat patrons to sweet treats. The president ordered a hot fudge sundae for himself and a banana split for White House press secretary Jay Carney, according to press pool reports. He also teased that Carney has a serious sweet tooth. "You guys are going to witness him eating the whole thing,”...

With the decision to own a gun comes the responsibility to control access to it, but there are limits to that responsibility. A case now before a federal appeals court in Boston will test those limits in ways that are important to the one-third to one-half of all New Hampshire households that own firearms. Michael Woodbury, a 31-year-old felon, went on a crime spree almost as soon as he was released from a Maine prison. That spree ended at a military surplus store in Conway where on July 2, 2007, Woodbury killed the store's manager and two young tourists who...

In a case attorneys say has no precedent in New Hampshire, a federal appeals court is weighing whether the owner of a handgun used to kill three people at a Conway military surplus shop in July 2007 could be held liable for their murders. Lawrence Secord didn't do enough to secure the .22-caliber handgun he kept at his camp in Wentworth Location, enabling his grandson, Michael Woodbury, to steal it and open fire in the Army Barracks store several days later, according to a lawsuit brought by the mother of one of the victims. A federal judge decided Secord didn't...

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- Important pro-gun legislation needs your IMMEDIATE help. There is only ONE week left for the state Senate to act on House Bill 536. If the Senate does not take action on HB 536 by Thursday, May 17, law-abiding residents of New Hampshire will lose an opportunity to expand their gun rights. Introduced by state Representative J.R. Hoell (R-13), this Right-to-Carry reform legislation would repeal the existing law that requires a person to have a concealed firearm license in order to carry concealed. However, HB 536 would not eliminate the current carry permitting system, which will still be...

According to New Hampshire law enforcement officials, Brittany Tibbetts bought a Ruger .357 revolver at a gun show in Manchester during the weekend of Jan. 14-15. Three months later, the weapon was one of two handguns recovered by police in the home of Cullen Mutrie following the April 12 shooting death of Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney and the wounding of four other officers. Investigators have said Mutrie shot the officers and killed Tibbetts before taking his own life. Associate Attorney General Jane Young didn't say how officials discovered Tibbetts purchased the weapon at that gun show or whether the...

Milford, NH --(Ammoland.com)- The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Constitutional Carry (HB 536) on this Wednesday, April 25th! I wish this meant the Senate intended to pass the bill. Unfortunately, my sources are telling me the Senate is already planning to kill this bill without a recorded vote. You read that right. Despite the fact that a majority of the Senate has pledged to support Constitutional Carry — Republican Senator Peter Bragdon is still leading the fight to make sure this bill doesn’t pass. What’s worse, in a sickening display of politics at its worst, anti-gun Senators...

Posted Friday, April 6, 2012, at 12:30 p.m.] In a court case that should give notice to every police chief in New Hampshire to obey the law on issuing concealed carry licenses, Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Kenneth R. McHugh ordered Newton Police Chief Lawrence Streeter to issue Robert J. Ferrara’s concealed carry license (License to Carry) and awarded attorney fees and costs. Under New Hampshire law (RSA 159:6-f), an issuing authority -- typically the police chief -- may be personally liable to pay reasonable attorney fees and costs for violating the state law on issuing licenses (RSA 159:6). In...

House Speaker Bill O'Brien reported with satisfaction yesterday that conduct by House Republicans at a hearing last year deemed "unruly and aggressive" by the attorney general did not violate any laws or legislative ethics. O'Brien said an investigation he requested by the head of State House security turned up no wrongdoing, but he told Attorney General Michael Delaney that the representatives involved "were very upset when the allegations made by you and your staff were not founded when made and publicized."

Jonathan Wasserman and Kristina Landry on either side of Cardinal Raymond L. Burke. Rome, Italy, Mar 30, 2012 / 04:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, head of the Vatican's highest court, described the beauty of receiving two young Americans in Rome into the Catholic Church.  “Today we are privileged to witness in a most beautiful manifestation the work of God’s grace flowing from the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus through the mediation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” said Cardinal Burke in his homily March 28. Jonathan Wasserman, 19, from Kansas City, Missouri, and 19-year-old Kristina Landry...

FARMINGTON — County Attorney Tom Velardi dropped all charges Thursday against the local man who fired a gun into the ground while stopping an alleged burglar last weekend, calling him an “upstanding member of the community for 61 years.” Dennis Fleming, 61, of 53 Ten Rod Road was arrested Saturday and charged with reckless conduct after he fired his .38 caliber hand gun into the ground in an attempt to stop Joseph Hebert, 27, of Bunker Street, after seeing the man coming out of a neighbor's window. Fleming was looking for the man after finding that his own home had...

<p>FARMINGTON, N.H. (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston) - A New Hampshire District Attorney has dropped a felony charge against 61-year-old Dennis Fleming bringing an end to a case that sparked national outrage.</p> <p>Last Saturday, the great-grandfather fired a warning shot into the ground to get the attention of an accused burglar.</p>

FARMINGTON — While he may be facing a felony charge, Dennis Fleming said he does not regret firing his gun Saturday when he stopped and detained a burglar who had entered his home and at least one other on Ten Rod Road. Still, the 61-year-old grandfather of 14 said he might go about stopping the burglar a little differently next time. "I should have called police and I recommend that everyone does," he said. "That aside, I'm glad I caught him." Fleming was arrested late Saturday night after turning himself into police and charged with felony reckless conduct, alleging he...

The New Hampshire state Senate rejected several controversial gun bills Wednesday. All of the proposals originally passed the House. The move suggests that the Senate’s patience for 2ndAmendment legislation may be about up. The Senate made brisk work of the so-called gun bills in front of them. “We spent a grand total of 6 minutes on 5 bills because we want to focus on the issues that are important to the New Hampshire people,” Senate President Peter Bragdon said. The bills the Senate down include a measure allowing people to carry loaded weapons – including crossbows – in their vehicles...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A bill that would require police in New Hampshire to check the immigration status of any people they arrest has drawn the ire of opponents who say it would encourage racial profiling

While attempting to seize guns from a man accused of domestic violence, Chichester and Epsom police officers took away firearms belonging to his family members instead, in violation of their civil rights, according to allegations contained in a lawsuit. Four members of Michael Martel Jr.'s family say he wasn't living in their Chichester home last August when officers stormed in, taking about a dozen guns, including one from his father's holster, according to their attorney, Richard Lehmann. It took the family 10 weeks to retrieve their firearms, according to the suit, during which time the family members suffered "injuries including...

Legislation to allow guns on all public property, including New Hampshire college campuses, is coming up for a vote in the state Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee is recommending that lawmakers study the idea, not put it into effect. The full Senate will vote on that bill and other bills to soften gun regulations on Wednesday.

The following request was filed by Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq. et al with the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office by fax. Exhibits prove that the Ballot Law Commission lied in the hearing on Obama’s eligibility last Friday. NH Request for Rehearing of Obama Ballot Access W/ Exhibits below.

Two controversial gun bills, including one that would allow guns on campus, could be headed to the "interim study" graveyard. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard four hours of testimony from supporters and critics yesterday then voted 4-0 to recommend the two bills be further studied because members had so many questions. Sen. Jim Forsythe, a Strafford Republican, had to leave the hearing early and did not vote. The second bill would allow people to carry almost-loaded shotguns and rifles in their vehicles. A bullet could be in the gun's magazine but not in the chamber. The full Senate must still...

New Hampshire could soon become one of the most pro-gun states in the country – a sanctuary where the Constitution is paramount and Americans don’t need the government’s permission to exercise their God-given rights. The bill is House Bill 536, sponsored by Representative J. R. Hoell, and it has already passed the House. The issue is “constitutional carry” – a concept which recognizes that Americans have the Second Amendment right to carry firearms without getting the government’s permission. Granite Staters would still be able to get a concealed carry license – for the purpose of thwarting the Brady Law and...

Brother testifies in favor of “Terri Schiavo Day” by Matt Lacy – Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo testified on Tuesday in support of a New Hampshire bill proclaiming March 31 of each year as a day to remember Terri Schiavo. Schiavo, who spent 15 years on a feeding tube, became a focal point over the right to die issue and highlighted the need for individuals to have a living will specifying their wishes.. On February 25, 1990 Schiavo collapsed while at home. After being admitted to the hospital, doctors were unable to determine an exact cause of...

NH House Votes to Strip Abortion Providers of Taxpayer Funds FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 18, 2011 Contact: Mallory Quigley, (202) 223-8073 House Votes 207 to 147 to Pass Legislation Developed by Alliance Defense Fund, Susan B. Anthony List Washington, D.C. – This morning, the New Hampshire House of Representatives passed HB 228 by an overwhelming margin of 207 to 147, prioritizing state-controlled family planning dollars away from abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood. The funding is prioritized to public and private entities that provide comprehensive health care to women and do not perform abortions. The bill’s language, inserted as an...

PETERBOROUGH – Cindy Ginn, possibly the most persistent Appleseeder of all time, recently earned her rifleman patch. Overcoming equipment and ammunition problems that have plagued her for no less than nine Appleseed events, Ginn bounced up an amazing 17 points to score 219 on the last Army Qualification Target of the event. When the AQT was scored, the crowd went wild. There were hugs and tears in abundance. The emotion was palpable. The Appleseed Project, a charitable organization, holds events all over the country that teach Revolutionary War history and rifle marksmanship. Participants who score 210 or better earn a...

I am a 19-year-old college student at the University of New Hampshire, and my constitutional rights are not open for debate. Specifically, the Second Amendment mandates that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” HB 334 has opened up a debate over whether college students should be allowed to carry guns on campus. We often hear that college students aren’t responsible enough to be trusted with guns. If college students cannot be trusted with guns, why can we be conscripted in the military? If we cannot be trusted with guns, why can we...

The guerrilla gotcha artist who punked New Hampshire says his latest ploy — using dead people’s identities to get ballots in the Granite State primary — is no different than what any hard-hitting network news operation does. It’s just another kind of investigative journalism, insists conservative video activist James O’Keefe, who is now facing a state investigation. “There is definitely a double standard against citizen journalists,” said O’Keefe. His undercover stings embarrassed ACORN in 2009, when he posed as a pimp seeking criminal advice from the left-leaning community service organization — and prompted high-level resignations at NPR, after an O’Keefe...

Project Veritas: On January 10th, Project Veritas reporters walked into New Hampshire Polling Locations during the Presidential Primaries, saying dead people's names. We stated the name of a dead person we got from the NH obituaries. The names of the deceased were both Registered Republican and Democrats and in almost every case, saying a dead person's name, we were handed a ballot to cast a vote. We used no misrepresentation and no false pretenses. in fact, in almost every case, we insisted we show ID and they insisted that we vote without showing ID.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich defends his recent comments on Mitt Romney. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich joined Howie up in New Hampshire to talk about his campaign and how they are doing. Also Howie grilled the Newt on recent comments he made against Mitt Romney.

Results as of 3:42pm. ROMNEY: 37% PAUL: 26% HUNTSMAN: 21% GINGRICH: 11% PERRY: 9% BACHMAN: 0% SANTORUM: 0%

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhY4oeNgAv_ldEotZFZ5cG45UGNQVEY1d1NpdWI1aHc&hl=en_US#gid=0 Didn't have time to do all 10 counties because to get the real data, you have to go to the township level, whose totals are at the SoS website. If any Freepers want to push the simulation for the other 9 counties, go ahead. Here were my assumptions: Romney maintains 2008 levels and gets 50% McCain vote Huntsman gets 33% of McCain vote + most/all of Rudy vote Santorum gets 80% of Huckabee total and what little Hunter vote Gingrich gets 20% Huckabee vote, 17% McCain vote, and what little of Thompson vote Perry gets 1% or less...