Our state motto — Live Free or Die — says just about everything you need to know about New Hampshire.
The Granite State has never been one to wait around for someone else to give it permission.
In 1772, New Hampshire men stood up in the Pine Tree Riot against British officials enforcing the Crown’s claim over their forests. In 1774, New Hampshire patriots seized weapons and gunpowder at Fort William and Mary—months before Lexington and Concord. And in 1776, New Hampshire became the first colony to establish an independent government and adopt its own constitution.
Nowadays, bureaucrats in Washington think they can boss our state around. But they must be ignorant of our history.
This year, state Rep. Barbara Comtois introduced, and the state legislature passed, House Bill 396 to give local meat producers a fairer opportunity to compete against the state’s four USDA-inspected slaughterhouses. Unfortunately, Gov. Kelly Ayotte vetoed the measure, citing the need to rely on “federal inspection” and USDA standards. Those requirements disproportionately favor the industry’s largest operators, while the cost of compliance can put smaller, local producers at a severe disadvantage.
As one concerned group wrote, “the door for New Hampshire producers only opens one way, and it belongs to Washington.”
This is not new for New Hampshire. Year after year, New Hampshire lawmakers and citizens confront federal mandates, regulations, and bureaucratic barriers that limit the ability of states to govern themselves. We can — and should — fight those battles individually. But we should also recognize the larger problem: Washington has accumulated power far beyond what the Founders intended.
That’s precisely why an Article V convention to propose amendments should appeal to New Hampshire.
Article V of the U.S. Constitution empowers the states to rein in the federal government by proposing amendments. The Convention of States Action application, which 20 states have already adopted, would allow the states to consider term limits, fiscal restraints, and other checks and balances on Washington.
For a state whose motto is Live Free or Die, passing the Convention of States resolution isn’t radical. It’s remarkably consistent with who New Hampshire has always been.
We can continue fighting Washington one regulation, one agency, and one bill at a time. Or we can address the structural problem that keeps expanding federal control in the first place.
It is time for New Hampshire to live up to its motto, pass the Convention of States application, and reclaim the authority that properly belongs to the states and the people.
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