From time to time, my wife asks me questions to sort of gauge where my head is at on various things. Not the “would you still love me if I were a worm” kind of questions, but about where I’d be interested in living in different regions of the country. When she asked about New England, my answer was New Hampshire and Maine–though Maine is off the list these days.
Why? Because of all the states in that part of the country, New Hampshire is the only one that seems to align with my more libertarian sensibilities.
Which is why I’m a little surprised they don’t have campus carry already, since they’re pretty good on guns otherwise.
Luckily, at some point today–possibly before this gets published, even–the state Senate is set to vote on campus carry. And according to the NRA’s Institute of Legislative Affairs, it’s just one of several bills getting a vote. Here’s what’s also up:
H.B. 609 strengthens New Hampshire’s preemption law in critical ways by expanding its scope to include both political subdivisions and state agencies, establishing enforcement mechanisms, and extending protection to all defensive weapons in addition to firearms. Strong preemption laws eliminate a confusing patchwork of local rules and inconsistent regulation by local authorities and state agencies. This bill would make clear that the legislature intends to occupy the entire field of regulation and provides recourse for violations.
H.B. 1365 increases privacy protections for applicants for a New Hampshire carry permit by eliminating the requirement to provide references, employment information, or private health information. While New Hampshire is a constitutional carry state, many residents still obtain carry permits for other purposes including interstate travel.
Let’s be honest, if they’re already constitutional carry, and they are, then asking for so much for a permit is beyond dumb. All that’s needed is just enough information to determine whether someone is prohibited from carrying or not. That’s it.
And expanding preemption is always a good thing, especially if there’s a lack of clarity that results in people thinking they can do things they shouldn’t be able to do to trample on the right to keep and bear arms.
Couple this with the potential for campus carry, and you’ve got a winning trifecta for a state that’s already pretty decent on gun rights, unlike literally every state around them.
While I’ve covered some of the arguments against campus carry, especially the whole “but college kids are immature” thing, the reality is that campus carry is mandatory in 13 states, and is permissible on a campus-by-campus basis in at least a dozen other states. All of the horror stories that have been presented as hypotheticals that would happen should New Hampshire pass this law are things that, if they were really that likely, would have already happened in these other states. They haven’t.
It’s just not a thing.
Those who are immature are generally not the ones who think about getting a gun for self-defense. They’re typically the kids who think they’re bulletproof to some degree, so they just don’t think about it in the first place. It’s just not a thing, for some reason, and thus not something to worry about.
Here’s hoping that New Hampshire passes all of these measures and makes a state that’s pretty good on guns even better.
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