[prion]

Now, ask yourself - should habitual drug users, mental patients and the town drunkard carry a loaded, hidden weapon?

Now, ask yourself - are habitual drug users, mental patients and the town drunkard obeying all the laws in the first place? Is there any reason to believe a new law will impact their decision-making in any way?

[Redcoat LI]

"Do we really want to live in a society where every male over 12 years of age has an AK-47 to fire in the air at every celebration?"

I thought he was talking about concealed weapons,kinda tough to make an A.K dissappear under your coat.

And isn't there a Federal Law calling for background checks at the point of sale?

[proudpapa]

I for one would much rather take a family vacation to Uganda then New Hampshire. It would be much more exciting, a trip we would never forget.

From what I've heard New Hampshire was nice but is now rather infested with liberal fleas from Massachusetts.

[coloradan]

The current New Hampshire law requiring a permit to carry a concealed pistol or revolver does not infringe upon a person's right to bear arms.

Liar! It turns a right into a privilige, by requiring government permission. A right is the sovreignty to act without permission.

[larrysav]

Vermont seems to work just fine with no permits for concealed carry. Criminals and mental defectives are going to carry regardless of the law.

Why does Chief Giese think that the citizens of New Hampshire are not be to trusted? Why are the citizens of Enfield required to ask Chief Giese for permission to defend their lives?

It sounds like Chief Giese is on a power trip. He must be clarivoyant and can determine who will act illegally in the future. We should put our faith in him rather than the citizens of New Hampshire. Right.

[goldstategop]

I'd tell Peter Giese the good people of New Hampshire sure as heck don't need HIS permission to defend themselves. He must have forgotten N.H's motto. God forbid the Granite State should be anything like its neighbor. Even though the good Chief can't cite ONE instance of a law enforcement officer being shot by a citizen over the border. My attitude, is if its good enough for Vermont, its good enough for N.H.

[Teacher317]

The response is incredibly simple. Vermont has had this law in place for decades. Do they have a gun crime problem? No. The reactions of public officials should be noted with that in mind.

[ahayes]

Think for a moment of the peacekeeper on his or her nightly patrols in an environment that allows all to carry a hidden, loaded gun. Think for a moment of the frail and weak that cannot safely handle a firearm.

Well goodness knows the "peacekeeper" is in no danger now since criminals don't carry guns illegally! As for the frail and weak, if they don't think they can handle a gun, they don't have to carry. :-D

[larrysav]

My letter to the Union Leader:

Chief Giese appears to think that the citizens of New Hampshire can't be trusted to carry firearms responsibly without a piece of paper from his office ("For the Safety of All", March 29, 2004). Citizens of Vermont have been trusted for decades carrying firearms without such permission slips. Are the citizens of Vermont more trustworthy than the citizens of New Hampshire? Of course not.

Criminals and mental defectives aren't deterred from carrying firearms because they don't have a permit. Police chiefs are not clairvoyant and cannot determine who will commit illegal or unstable acts in the future. No citizen should have to ask permission to defend their own life. Otherwise, we should change the license plates to read, "Ask permission, or die".

-------

NH Freepers should write letters to the Leader as this bill's passage is far from certain at this point.

[cruiserman]

Should this legislation become law, everyone with the exception of convicted felons will be allowed to carry a hidden, loaded firearm. Now, ask yourself — should habitual drug users, mental patients and the town drunkard carry a loaded, hidden weapon?

What's stopping them from doing so now?