The New Hampshire House Republican majority is razor thin, so you might expect NH Dems to peel off a few wins on crucial votes. Wednesday, they had their first opportunity as the chamber voted on rules changes, but it wasn’t their best day.
At least a few Granite State Lefties wanted to ban the concealed carry of firearms in the Statehouse (of course, they did). They like banning guns, and David ‘GOP=Taliban‘ Meuse is a persistent left-wing gun-grabber, so he stepped up and made the case.
David Meuse (D-Portsmouth) requested that the ability of no one, except for on-duty law enforcement officials, should be able to carry or have a weapon in their possession in the House chamber, gallery and nearby rooms. …
Terry Roy (D-Deerfield) and J.R. Hoell (R-Dunbarton) said that judicial precedent indicating that constitutional rights to bear arms supersede House rules and in emergencies, law enforcement officials may be too far away to provide protection where it is needed.
It failed 197-177, so concealed carry continues to be protected as a matter of state and constitutional law and in House rules.
Cam Edwards, at Bearing Arms, wrote, “This is a good sign for the start of the New Hampshire session, and hopefully, it portends more defeats for the anti-gun lobby in the months ahead… not only in the Live Free or Die State but in statehouses from coast-to-coast as well.”
Another sore spot for progs is in-person attendance. They’ve still got a fever for the flavor of the lockdowns. The COVID Boogeyman is around every corner, and it’s coming to get you. Picture the McCarthy Era commies behind every bush but replace commies with COVID.
They wanted to blacklist the unvaccinated, if you recall.
So, the hard-core Left wants the option for remote voting or something similar. They brought a rules amendment for proxy voting (allowing someone else to show up and vote in their stead). If you’ve never been a NH House rep, studied the process, or even if you have, voting can prove troublesome, especially if there is a pile of motions for this or that. It makes a proxy a questionable alternative that is not required to vote the same way as the Rep for whom they are filling in, nor to vote at all. And while that might be fun to watch, the House killed it, 204-177.
The Dems also proposed remote committee hearings. In NH, the heavy lifting happens in committee. The yea or nay on the house floor is for or against the committee recommendation. Some Dems wanted the participation from home waiver (COVID!), but the same case was made as with the proxy. Your constituents elected you to show up. Show up. That result was closer, but it failed 195-180.
I’m not sure if, in the course of debate, anyone mentioned the equity or social justice in forcing Dems to drive to the state house given the gas prices their Party policies have foisted on everyone (expected to rise again this year), but that would have been fun to watch too. A bit crass, perhaps, but relevant if anyone wants my opinion.
