From NHFC-Ontarget.org
“Rep. Hoell serves as NHFCs corporate secretary and has introduced HB 1749. HB 1749 was written with the assistance of Attorney Michael Hammond who is a New Hampshire resident and serves as Legislative Counsel to our partners at Gun Owners of America. If enacted into law, this important bill will stop the anti-gun activities which are occurring far to often in cities and towns. HB 1749 is known as pre-emption legislation, reserving for the General Court (legislature) the exclusive authority to regulate firearms.
Sadly, we thought that we solved the problem of local gun bans way back in 2003 when we helped to enact R.S.A. 159:26 which is pretty clear:
“…the state of New Hampshire shall have authority and jurisdiction over the sale, purchase, ownership, use, possession, transportation, licensing, permitting, taxation, or other matter pertaining to firearms, firearms components, ammunition, firearms supplies, or knives in the state. Except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, no ordinance or regulation of a political subdivision may regulate the sale, purchase, ownership, use, possession, transportation, licensing, permitting, taxation, or other matter pertaining to firearms, firearms components, ammunition, or firearms supplies in the state.”
But, alas, anti-gun officials from Milford to Lebanon to Salem and many other towns are still enacting anti-gun ordinances and rules. HB 1749 will not only strengthen the clear language in R.S.A. 159:26 but it will also add penalties to the law. Attorney Hammond helped us to write a penalty section into HB 1749 that is very similar to the penalties that were enacted in Florida in 2011. Florida’s pre-emption law was ignored for close to 25 years. Finally, in 2011, when the penalties were added, local officials started to follow state law. I have been credibly informed that the situation in Florida changed virtually overnight once the penalties were added to the pre-emption law.”
Contact your legislators and ask they support this bill. Click for HOUSE and SENATE contacts.