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HB135

The Stalinist Idea Behind HB135 – The Effort to Repeal Stand Your Ground

by Steve MacDonald

I pulled this opening line from a very interesting article by Steven Hayward at Powerline because it reminds us where the lefts hatred for the right of self defense actually comes from, even if they themselves do not know it.

If memory serves, Irving Kristol once remarked that the term “peace,” as it was used by the left, “is a Stalinist concept,” since the intent of the so-called “peace movement” was the unilateral disarmament of the West and the triumph of Communism.

On the big stage Mr. Obama is doing a fine job of advancing that very-communist goal of undermining the US military from within but it occurred to me that the same ideological inheritance that encourages the Obama administration’s effort to put the US military into therapy is equally rich with a “peace movement” mentality which the average street-level apparatchik deploys (at the direction of their professional left-wing betters) against the second amendment.

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Rep Itse ‘Stands His Ground’ on “Honor Your Oath.”

by Steve MacDonald

Freemont Republican House Rep Dan Itse responds to previous letters and editorials from the Union Leader and Chuck Douglas–in the Union Leader–regarding the Honor Your Oath Rally and the persistent effort by them and others to insist that this was just another gun rally whose premis is flawed. Rep Itse does a fine job of … Read more

Maggie “The Red” Hassan – MaggieGuns?

by Skip

History has taught us that those of history desired power and wanted control over others grabbed products, services, and liberties under the rubric of “for the common good” or for your “safety and security”.   Never did you hear “we are taking these things so that you may be free and enjoy enhanced liberty”.  No, those two phrases are the shopworn platitudes of those that believe they have the right to organize life for others instead of others exercising their Rights to do it themselves.   Governor Maggie Hassan has already expressed and acted in this way when a State Senator:

  • First, they came for the speakers – MaggieSpeech (“your political speech will be regulated and taxed fee’d!”)
  • Next, they came for the capitalists – MaggieCare (“all your hospitals are belong to us!”)

If her legislation had passed, she would have ensured that Government would have put political speech into a straight-jacket – opposite of the reason why the First Amendment exists (to protect those that would criticize others, especially those in power and those in Government).  Then with MaggieCare, she would have wrested the power to decide operational details of all of the hospitals and placed it into a Governmental board that would have been populated by bureaucrats; unelected and unaccountable to the voters.  And they would have been self-sustaining  with the ability to tax those they oversaw without legislative oversight.

Back in the 1930s, that was called Fascism – who needed to own the means of production when Government merely controlled its operation and outcomes?  We also know that incremental steps were taken in other areas as well – including taking away the right to self defense.  So when a representative of Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire asked what her intentions concerning HB135, which would repeal the Stand Your Ground legislation passed last session (as well as upping the budget 16%, btw), what was her response?  Shades of Carol Shea-Runaway!  Watch:

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Guest post by Penny Dean, Esq. – HB135 “Stand your ground” must be defeated

by Skip

HB 135 NEEDS TO BE ITL’D

If the proposed changes to RSA 627:4 in the form of HB 135 are adopted (i.e. the return to the previous version of the law-see below), the affirmative defense will no longer be available to those who are forced to defend themselves or others at places other than their home. Nothing good will come from this. Innocent New Hampshire citizens are currently being regularly, unfairly and unreasonably charged for defending themselves and will have a greatly lessened chance at being found not guilty due to inadequate jury instructions if HB 135 passes, and thus less justice, the price for HB 135….potentially years of their life in prison.

If the accused in a self defense case “wins” as in is acquitted at trial, the price many pay is their job (in many instances a cash only bail is ordered, and many people cannot afford $10k or $25k cash bail, so are kept in jail and are fired from work because they cannot go to work). Ask yourself if you were absent from work for a month or two *(or longer) because you were in jail awaiting trial, would your boss keep your job open? What about those of you who might work for less than firearm friendly corporations? What is the likelihood you would HAVE a job after the charges against you were announced? Citizens who are forced to defend themselves while at the grocery store, walking home, leaving work, or anywhere they might be currently are NOT given a “free pass” by the very weak New Hampshire “stand your ground” affirmative defense law, but rather, after they are charged criminally, and then they may be allowed to raise the defenses found in RSA 627:4.

Many people do not understand what an affirmative defense is.

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Guest post by “Paladin”

by Skip

Reader “Paladin” had earlier asked if we publish a guest post by him – it can be found here: Guest Post by Paladin – a short commentary on HB135 (the NH “Run Away!” bill) sponsored by Stephen Shurtleff.  Now that HB135 has passed out of committee in the NH House, he asked if this could be his follow up.

*****

Deputy Dawg Shurtleff, a Democrat who introduced HB 135 to repeal New Hampshire’s “stands your ground” self-defense law was endorsed yesterday by the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. Rep. Dennis Fields (R) of Sanbornton and Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R) of Manchester, joined the Dawg’s posse supporting the bill while all six “no” votes came from the other Republicans.

Deputy Dawg Shurtleff enjoys immunity from the his own bill by virtue of the fact he is a retired U.S, Marshal. He falls into the latter of the two classes of persons as defined by the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act – “ a United States federal law, enacted in 2004, that allows two classes of persons, the “qualified law enforcement officer” and the “qualified retired law enforcement officer” – to carry a concealed firearm in any jurisdiction in the United States, regardless of state or local laws, with certain exceptions. The law does not limit or change an officer’s authority within their own state or jurisdiction from carrying or to where a firearm is carried “off duty” or “on duty” under their own state law.

But it seems Deputy Dawg doesn’t think you should be allowed to protect your family and possible others. It seems instead, since he can do as he pleases, he will only provide this protection to those he chooses, his offspring and their kin. But not folks like Katherine Booth , the victim of an attempted kidnapping at gun point:

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HB135: Criminal Defense Attorneys Weigh In

by Rick Olson

“Finally, is not liberty the restricting of the law only to its rational sphere of organizing the right of the individual to lawful self-defense; of punishing injustice?” —Frederic Bastiat  

Yesterday, The New Hampshire Union Leader featured a story where, “Lawyers say stand your ground works” Prominent Granite State criminal defense lawyer, Mark Sisti told the Union Leader’s Dale Vincent, “I’m not seeing a downside to the (stand your ground) law.” Rep. Stephen Shurtleff (D) Penacook, is sponsoring

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Guest Post by Paladin – a short commentary on HB135 (the NH “Run Away!” bill) sponsored by Stephen Shurtleff

by Skip

From time to time, we accept and post up guest posts from either folks that we consider to be “notables” or from someone who has something to say.  I have also had the policy that I accept anonymous submissions as well and have put some up in the past – people who have something to say but cannot afford to reveal their identity for fear of retribution.  This post has both attributes:

“DEPUTY DAWG” as quoted by the Union Leader. Wednesday, January 23, 2013.

 “I was in the Army. We used to say the best defense is a good offense,” Shurtleff said. “But I do not believe that should be true on the streets of New Hampshire.’ The Deputy is implying that, if left to our own devices, we the people will become proponents what he called “the best defense is a good offence”; i.e. we would shoot first?

 If his HB 135 is passed, the streets of New Hampshire will offer every criminal armed with a weapon, bats, knives and even toy guns to harm anyone at will, without fear for their lives.

 The Deputy is retired from the U.S. Marshals Service and has immunity from his HB 135, under “The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA). Will he leave his home without his “piece” so he can defend himself?

 Paladin’

I will add this: with his utterance, that Paladin correctly identifies,  of “I was in the Army. We used to say the best defense is a good offense” shows a radical and perverse view of armed lawfully abiding citizens (common among Socialists and Democrats in law making positions, it seems). It also shows a weak example of Obama-lite: a strawman argument that ascribes a combat mentality to a civilian population that is accepted by no one (except by Shurtleff himself).

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Is the NHACP going to repeat their Chicken Little routine again?

by Skip

NHACP 2011-12-28 Against "Stand Your Ground"In the last session, the NH Associations of Chiefs of Police (NHACP) decided that legislation that more fully allowed NH Citizens to realize their Natural Right to self-defense and lobbied the legislators (I do wonder if that would be legal – I seem to remember that association dues like this are paid out of property taxes.  Thus, wouldn’t this be illegal??).  For all their kvetching about a “Wild West” (echoing what others always say when gun laws are relaxed), the same thing happened here in NH as elsewhere – nothing happened. At all.  Nada, when it came to actions by lawful citizens.  And like those “else where naysayers”, the NHACP ended up looking like Chicken Littles. ‘Cept no sky fell.

Well, HB135 is now up for a vote – once again, hypocritical Democrats are trying to change “settled law” and reverse what Republicans passed last session.  Will we see the NHACP throw in with the Democrats in limiting Citizens’ Rights – after all, the empirical evidence shows that the law has been successful has happened.  I outline a couple of what I thought to be key phrases .But ask yourself – given their failed prophecy, will they again try to act as the Oracle at Delphi?

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