SIMS: The Quiet Sellout: – How New Hampshire’s Senate Undermined House Wins

From pregnancy resource centers to gun rights, the Senate’s procedural maneuvers and closed-door deals are costing Granite Staters their freedoms.

Dear Fellow Granite Stater,

I am a conservative, undeclared voter who left the Democratic Party in 2019 because I could no longer trust its direction. I have testified at the State House in Concord many times, watching constituents show up with facts, experience, and heartfelt testimony — only to see too many legislators unfamiliar with the subject matter and unwilling to accept correction or criticism. That gap between public testimony and legislative attention is not merely frustrating; it is unacceptable.

This year’s session has been energizing in the House and deeply frustrating in the Senate. On issue after issue — parental rights, protections for pregnancy resource centers, homeschooling freedom, Right to Try for the suffering — the House acted in ways that reflected Granite Staters’ priorities. But the Republican-controlled Senate often operated like an insulated caucus: delaying votes, rewriting bills with surprising amendments, and responding to constituent feedback as if it were “bullying.” That posture has real consequences.

I researched the session closely and watched several bills fall victim to this pattern.

Pregnancy resource centers (HB 1416)

Rep. Samuel Farrington’s HB 1416 simply prohibited state agencies from shutting down pregnancy resource centers or forcing them to refer for abortions. That was the whole bill — the most threadbare protection imaginable for organizations that provide free services, ultrasounds, counseling, and material help to women facing unplanned pregnancies. The Senate nevertheless moved the bill to study and effectively killed it, claiming they needed more time to deliberate. After a full session of testimony and public advocacy, “study” is a weak excuse for defeating a minimal protection voters would expect their representatives to uphold.

Parental rights hijacked (HB 1376)

HB 1376 began as a parental-rights bill from Rep. Lori Korzen. On May 14, Senate amendments inserted language identical to a previously rejected bill (SB 520), authorizing “breast surgery” for minors — a statutory phrase that includes “surgery to remove all breast tissue” under RSA 329:52. The House had already tabled that change. The Senate’s maneuver risked allowing elective mastectomies for minors “including but not limited to” physical discomfort. This is not careful lawmaking; it is a political bait-and-switch.

Right to Try denied (HB 1735)

HB 1735 would have extended New Hampshire’s Right to Try protections to patients with chronic, debilitating conditions who are not imminently dying but who suffer every day. The House passed it 181–151, the governor supported it, and manufacturers in New Hampshire are already producing promising individualized therapies. A Senate committee moved the bill to interim study and then tabled it. That vote preserves the status quo and denies suffering patients potential access to life-changing treatments.

Homeschooling passed — with a catch (HB 1268)

HB 1268, the Home Education Freedom Act, passed both chambers but only after Senate amendments added unrelated pharmacy language that favored a senator’s separate policy interest. That tells voters the homeschooling protections were not the Senate’s primary reason for support; they were incidental to other priorities. Granite Staters should know exactly who they sent to Concord and why.

An even more alarming betrayal on firearms

I also tracked a coordinated, urgent shift in the Senate on gun issues that felt like a direct sellout to incrementalism and outside influence.

HB 1793 (Campus Carry): The Senate turned a clear House fix into a study and gutted meaningful protection, limiting carry to staff in an amended version. The clean House solution that addressed constitutional concerns was rejected. One senator reportedly texted that the NRA was “fine” with the change after a meeting with its state director — which raises questions about whose interests were being prioritized.

HB 609 (Preemption for Self-Defense Tools): The House passed a strong preemption bill to prevent local patchworks of anti-gun rules. The Senate stuffed a dangerous amendment into it that delegates rule-making power to unelected bureaucrats via the JLCAR/administrative-rule process. That shift hands essential authority to people who are not accountable to voters; administrative rule-making is a poison pill for constitutional rights.

This is not negotiation; it is surrender. Administrative rule-making lets shadowy bureaucrats create binding rules without robust legislative oversight or meaningful public input. Neither the General Court nor gun owners should allow local tyrants, campus administrators, or unelected officials to chip away at the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Weak grades and softened endorsements from national groups will not protect us when it counts.

Why this matters

What unites these cases is not simply policy disagreement but a troubling process: Senators operating as a bloc, avoiding roll‑call transparency, and treating constituent engagement as a nuisance. Elected officials must do their homework, accept correction, and explain their decisions. If they cannot — or will not — listen, then they will properly face political consequences.

What you can do now (urgent)

The Committee of Conference will decide final language for several of these bills. Time is short.

Contact your senator and demand clear explanations for these votes. Ask why HB 1416 was tabled, why HB 1376 was amended with language the House rejected, why HB 1735 was sent to study, and why HB 1793 and HB 609 appear to have been weakened or corrupted.

If you care about HB 609 (preemption) and HB 1793 (campus carry), contact the House conferees for HB 609 and urge them to hold the strong House position or kill the corrupted Senate version. Demand no administrative rule-making over firearms and self-defense tools.

House Committee of Conference Members – HB 609:

Rep. Terry Roy (C): Terry.Roy@gc.nh.gov | (603) 239-3369

Rep. Jennifer Rhodes: Jennifer.Rhodes@gc.nh.gov | (603) 762-8069

Rep. Kathleen Paquette: Kathleen.Paquette@gc.nh.gov | (603) 305-2774

Rep. Erica Layon: Erica.Layon@gc.nh.gov | (603) 271-3369

Also contact House Leadership:

House Majority Leader Jason Osborne: Jason@Osborne4NH.com (603) 391-2138

Thank House champions who stood up for constituents’ rights — people like Rep. Samuel Farrington, Rep. Lori Korzen, Rep. Kristin Noble, and the bipartisan House majorities that supported these measures.

Attend committee meetings or follow them online. Show up in Concord if you can. Public pressure matters.

A final word to the Senate

You can change course. Restore roll‑call accountability. Listen to constituents. Stop delegating core decisions to administrative processes or outside influencers. If you refuse, don’t be surprised when your voters respond at the ballot box.

I researched these bills and the actions taken in Concord; I encourage readers to review the dockets and committee actions themselves and to hold their legislators accountable. Our rights and our families’ safety are not bargaining chips.

In liberty,

References and sources I consulted: You can look up all of these bills here and do your research: Research a NH BILL Here

HB 1376 docket and amendment language

HB 1416 docket and testimony

HB 1735 docket and committee actions

HB 1268 docket and Senate amendment language

HB 1793 and HB 609 dockets, Committee of Conference notices

Public statements and reporting from the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition and other local advocacy groups.

CALL TO ACTION — ACT NOW

Your rights are being decided this week in Concord. Flood the phones and inboxes of the legislators who will decide the final fate of HB 609, HB 1793, HB 1416, HB 1376, and HB 1735. Be respectful but firm: no bureaucratic rule-making, no study delays, no weak compromises.

1) HOUSE COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE — HB 609 (Preemption for Self-Defense Tools)

Tell them to hold the strong House position or KILL the corrupted Senate version. No administrative rule-making over firearms or self-defense tools.

Rep. Terry Roy (C): Terry.Roy@gc.nh.gov (603) 239-3369

Rep. Jennifer Rhodes: Jennifer.Rhodes@gc.nh.gov (603) 762-8069

Rep. Kathleen Paquette: Kathleen.Paquette@gc.nh.gov (603) 305-2774

Rep. Erica Layon: Erica.Layon@gc.nh.gov (603) 271-3369

Also contact House Leadership:
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne
Email: Jason@Osborne4NH.com
Phone: (603) 391-2138

2) CONTACT YOUR SENATOR — Demand Accountability On HB 1416, HB 1376, HB 1735

Tell your senator: protecting rights is not complicated. Stop killing minimal protections. Stop deceptive amendments. Stop sending bills to study.

Find your senator and contact info:
→Contact Your Senator

3) THANK HOUSE CHAMPIONS FOR THEIR COURAGE

Thank these representatives for bringing and defending bills that protect families and rights:

Rep. Samuel Farrington: HB 1416 sponsor (Pregnancy Resource Centers) Samuel.Farrington@gc.nh.gov

Rep. Lori Korzen (R): HB 1376 prime sponsor (Parental Rights) Lori.Korzen@gc.nh.gov (603) 723-9901

Rep. Kristin Noble: HB 1268 champion (Home Education Freedom)

Rep. Kimberly Rice (R): House Republican Policy Leader; HB 1376 conferee Kimberly.Rice@leg.state.nh.us (603) 943-3369

Rep. Jodi Nelson (R): Clerk, House Children & Family Law; HB 1376 conferee jodi.nelson@leg.state.nh.us (508) 397-9999

Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D): HB 1376 conferee Jonah.Wheeler@gc.nh.gov (603) 831-9916

4) ATTEND THE COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE IN PERSON

HB 609 Committee of Conference
Meetings starting May 21, key meetings May 27 onward
📍 Granite Place, Concord, NH

Show up in person if you can. Public presence matters.

SHARE THIS ALERT with friends, family, and your local firearms and pro-life communities. We have a greater voice when we all work together.

In liberty we trust. In action we prevail.