Today, the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee sent House Bill 687 to the Senate floor for consideration after a motion to kill the bill failed by a vote of 2-3. Next week, the Senate is expected to hold a floor vote on this firearm seizure bill that would take away the constitutional rights of individuals without due process.
Please click the “Take Action” button below to contact your state senator and ask them to OPPOSE House Bill 687.
House Bill 687, sponsored by Representative Debra Altschiller (D-Rockingham 19), would allow ex parte orders that would suspend Second Amendment rights without adequate due process. Further, if the order is vacated after an individual surrendered their firearms, that individual will have to go to court to have their property returned, unlike when the court wrongfully takes their property away. Knowingly filing a false claim is only a misdemeanor, while violating an order is a Class B felony, punishable by three and a half to seven years of imprisonment. This extreme difference in punishments could lead to false accusations against many law-abiding individuals.
Constitutional rights should only be restricted with sufficient due process of law. Due process limits restrictions on constitutional rights to only serious convictions and adjudications that provide procedural protections to the accused, which results in more reliable proceedings. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms should not be treated as a second-class right and should only be restricted when sufficient protections are in place.
Again, please click “Take Action” above to contact your state senator and ask them to OPPOSE House Bill 687.