On Friday the New Hampshire Senate was scheduled to vote Senate Bill 116 (SB 116) aka Constitutional Carry in a conference of committee to agree with the house changes. The bill will now make its way to Governor Maggie Hassan’s desk.
Hassan already stated, in kabuki theatre with Moms Demand Action of New Hampshire, that she would veto the bill. This is after thousands of women across the state have asked Hassan to pass the bill so they will no longer be discriminated against by their police chiefs. This is after thousands of women across New Hampshire have asked that their rights be restored to what they previously were.
Before women gained the right to vote in 1920, they were able to protect themselves how they saw fit, including carrying a concealed firearm. In 1923, legislation was passed that allowed state-sanctioned discrimination and gave control of pistol licensing to selectman and/or chiefs of police.
Flash forward to 2015 and you find incidents across the state where police chiefs (mostly men) are indeed using the pistol license law from 1923 to discriminate against women for being women. One woman was courageous enough to testify to this at the Senate Hearings for SB 116. Many others have also told their stories but are too intimidated by their police chiefs to speak publicly about it.
Governor Hassan has made claims over and over again that she is a strong proponent of women’s rights but is she? Some more memorable quotes from the governor are below.
From the Daily Beast:
In the last century we’ve made great progress in women’s rights and we have gotten stronger with every decade, so I don’t understand why there is so much determination to unravel that, says Hassan.
It seems Hassan is only for progressing women’s rights that fit her left wing narrative. Women aren’t asking the Governor for special rights, they are asking to have their rights restored to what they were before 1923. Isn’t that “progress”?
From Marie Claire when discussing rape comments made by Richard Mourdock:
Women have to deal with very difficult, very challenging situations like the one he referenced, and it really is no place for government interference. And it’s no place for politicians to be. I’ve been focusing on this campaign, on making sure we respect and trust women to make their own decisions, that we make sure that women’s access to affordable health care is equal to that of men. And we need to recognize that respecting women’s liberties and freedoms is important for their ability to be fully included in our economy.
According to this statement, Hassan seems to believe that women should be trusted and respected to make their own decisions but apparently only when it comes to health care and not women protecting themselves and their families. Isn’t that also a health issue? She claims that government shouldn’t interfere in women’s decisions but that is exactly what the current pistol license law does to women. Shouldn’t recognizing women’s liberties and freedoms when it comes to self-defense also be important?
From the Patch when discussing birth control:
This unbelievable assault on women has to stop. As Governor, I will stand strong to protect the progress that women have made over the last century and against attempts like this bill to undermine our health care rights and our independence.
Maybe Hassan doesn’t understand that birth control is not a right but protecting oneself is indeed a woman’s right. Denying women their right to protect themselves how they see fit completely undermines their independence.
The Women’s Defense League of New Hampshire had released a statement that they believed that Governor Hassan simply didn’t understand the discrimination that was occurring within the pistol licensing process. How could she possibly be for progressing women’s rights and still veto SB 116?
Hassan has met with Moms Demand, who are funded by out-of-state billionaire gun control extremist Michael Bloomberg. Is she only seeking the opinions of a few women who are paid to push gun control by an out-of-state male billionaire with armed security rather than listening to the thousands of women in New Hampshire who have asked her to restore their rights?
Not every woman wants to own a firearm, that is a personal choice but every woman should want their rights restored so they can protect themselves if they choose without being discriminated against for simply being a woman. Whether a woman owns a firearm or not one would think she would be against gender discrimination.
It’s bad enough there are male Democrats in the New Hampshire Senate who believe it’s up to them to decide what issues are women’s rights issues. Governor Hassan knows full well this is a women’s rights issue and that changing the current law would restore women’s rights. If she didn’t know about the discrimination women have suffered, she certainly does by now unless she’s living in a cave.
A politician cannot claim to be a proponent of women’s rights but turn around and squash women’s rights if it doesn’t fit their political party’s agenda. Political hacks like Senator David Pierce (NH District 5) or Senator Andrew Hosmer (NH District 7) do that but Governor Hassan has tried to maintain that she’s bi-partisan and that she is a champion of women’s rights. The women of New Hampshire will find out soon enough if that’s actually true or if it’s just a political gimmick for votes.
