Blog for New Hampshire

The folowing article is from the Union Leader Online….

CONCORD – Democrats in the House and Senate voted yesterday to bar firearms and other deadly or dangerous weapons from the State House and two other buildings.

A special committee that oversees legislative facilities voted to reinstate a gun ban that had been in effect from 1996 to 2006. The new ban includes the Legislative Office Building, the nearby Upham Walker House and a connecting tunnel.

Republicans complained that the new policy was introduced at the last minute and gave them no opportunity to study it for flaws.

Guns at the State House became a concern last year when a number of armed individuals stood and shouted at lawmakers from the House gallery during debate and votes on state’s rights issues.

The new policy states that no one except law enforcement officers “shall carry a firearm or other dangerous or deadly weapon or an explosive, open or concealed,” in the buildings and tunnels. Armed law enforcement officers must produce “sufficient identification” if security staff request it.

Senate President Sylvia Larsen, D-Concord, said a Republican no-weapons policy that was in place for a decade was revoked under Senate President Ted Gatsas in 2006. The reason given for the change at the time was that the policy did not adequately define the “State House complex” from which weapons were barred, Larsen said. The new policy specifically defines buildings and areas it covers.

“We are not recommending and have no intent to put in metal detectors, but we do want to see a return to civility where civil discourse occurs in this building,” she said. “That was the rule during 10 years of Republican control.”

Speaker of the House Terie Norelli, D-Portsmouth, said in a statement, “For many years deadly weapons were not allowed in the State House … As elected leaders, we have a responsibility to protect citizens who come to witness the democratic process first hand.”

The vote left in place a rule that says a person can leave the buildings rather than submit to a security screening.

Senate minority leader Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, said the proposal came up at a morning meeting yesterday with no notice. He said it’s not clear what an elected official is supposed to do if they arrive in Concord with a weapon. There is no provision for storage on-site, he said.

“Rushing things like this through at the last minute, whether they are a good idea or not, leads to mistakes,” he said. My biggest complaint is about the process … This is really an issue of transparency, which Democrats said they would take seriously.”

Larsen recalled the disruption in the House last year, saying, “Many House members felt they’d be more secure if we had the policy back in place.”

Gun owners began calling yesterday to complain, he said.

Sen. Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, said the new rule leaves her feeling vulnerable. She argued the ban goes beyond guns and knives, and would apply to pepper spray or mace.

“Many of us are here late at night after security has gone home. It sounds like now we will not be able to have anything to protect ourselves,” she said.

Four Democrats have proposed a bill, HB 1654 that would make it a felony to carry firearms or deadly weapons into the State House or adjacent office building.