HB 396 is needed to clarify that nothing in New Hampshire law prevents public facilities from differentiating between the biological sexes in athletic competitions, prisons, locker rooms, restrooms, or places of intimate privacy.
Rather than focusing on a single area such as sports, HB 396, by acknowledging that “any person or organization, public or private” can make a common-sense classification based on biological sex, provides the most expansive framework to address the ongoing harm to vulnerable women and girls and has the greatest success of becoming law in New Hampshire. This bill also seeks to address the growing issue of young New Hampshire boys whose privacy is violated when the opposite sex uses their restrooms in schools.
HB 396 simply clarifies the state’s ability to differentiate based on biological sex; it mandates nothing in terms of any policy. However, it will send a clear message that, under existing NH law, organizations are not required to permit access to intimate spaces solely based on self-proclaimed gender identity. It is vital that the Senate pass HB 396, unamended in any way, as an important first step to stop the abuse of women and girls.
HB 396 had an executive session last Tuesday, May 14, during which the Judiciary Committee recommended the bill as OTP (ought to pass).
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
HB 396 will come before the full Senate for a vote this Wednesday or Thursday, May 22 or 23. We urge you to contact your Senator to support the committee recommendation of OTP and to vote against any amendments.
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR
Granite State women are calling on legislators to protect their safety and privacy, and we need your help make their voices heard loud and clear in the Senate!
Get five reasons to support HB 396 in less than 60 seconds by watching the video below and share it on social media to help build the momentum behind this bill: Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram.
Safe Haven Expansion Before the Senate This Week
Last month, there was a public hearing in the Senate on HB 1607, relative to expanded safe haven protections. Now, the Senate has a critical opportunity to position New Hampshire as the leader in infant protections among our New England neighbors.
Earlier this year, the most important part of the bill was removed on the House floor: Section 5 would have ensured parents surrendering a baby would not have to fear prosecution as a result of their surrender. It is critical and necessary to include this provision, called the “exclusionary rule,” in the expansion of safe haven law to accomplish the law’s goal, which is to save lives, NOT catch criminals or deter parents from doing the right thing for their child.
We know of instances where mothers have turned away from making use of the safe haven law out of a real fear of prosecution. This either leads to an increase in illegal abandonment and likelihood of infant death through malnourishment, exposure, or overdose or keeps an unwanted child in an unsafe and dangerous environment. Excluding the act of surrendering a child from being leveraged for prosecution does not preclude bringing a criminal to justice.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive session on HB 1607, during which the bill was amended to reinsert the section 5 exclusionary rule. The Committee then recommended the bill as OTPA (ought to pass with amendment).
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The safe haven expansion will come before the full Senate this Wednesday or Thursday, May 22 or 23. We urge you to contact your senator and ask that they support the OTPA motion, and pass the bill with the important exclusionary rule.
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR
Senate Votes Against State-Sanctioned Suicide
HB 1283, relative to end of life options, would have implement state-sanctioned suicide for those facing an illness which a physician has predicted would be terminal within six months.
On Thursday, May 16, the Senate voted in 17-7 in support of the interim study recommendation. While this vote is not the outright rejection of state-sanctioned suicide we hoped for, it effectively kills the bill while underscoring the dangers and slippery slope it would create.
The following senators voted in opposition to the bill:
Sen. Carrie Gendreau (R-Littleton)
Sen. Timothy Lang (R-Sanbornton)
Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro)
Sen. James Gray (R-Rochester)
Sen. Dan Innis (R-Bradford)
Sen. Ruth Ward (R-Stoddard)
Sen. Denise Ricciardi (R-Bedford)
Sen. Shannon Chandley (D-Amherst)
Sen. Kevin Avard (R-Nashua)
Sen. Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua)
Sen. Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry)
Sen. Howard Pearl (R-Loudon)
Sen. Donna Soucy (D-Manchester)
Sen. Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead)
Sen. Lou D’Allesandro (D-Manchester)
Sen. Daryl Abbas (R-Salem)
Sen. Bill Gannon (R-Sandown)
If your senator is on the above list, we urge you to reach out and thank them for bravely taking a stand against the dangers of state-sanctioned suicide.
THANK YOUR SENATOR
On Tuesday, the next generation of Granite State leaders took a final stand against HB 1283 at a press conference in the State House, speaking out about the specific dangers the bill would have posed to our state’s young people. Their eloquent words and clear passion certainly made an impression, and they were later quoted during the Senate debate on the bill! We are thankful for their valiant advocacy and the bright promise their leadership holds for our future.
