February 13, 2007
by Ed Naile
Here is an email CNHT got on Friday the 9th of February from a person from NH Right to Life. It seems the Governor’s Office thinks it’s funny to forward calls to 217-2121 to NHRTL instead of taking them themselves. I called and confirmed this was happening Friday but when the 271-2121 # was called yesterday morning the activity had stopped.
What this amounts to is PHONE JAMMING because it is the forwarding of unwanted calls to the answering machine of the non-profit.
How cute it is when our Governor’s Office does it?
Luckily phone jamming in NH is “unconstitutional” as you will see by reading the relevant RSA below.
Below the email that was sent to CNHT Friday is the RSA.
Be proud of your bipartisan, oh so popular Governor and his wicked funny staff. We are disgusted with the lot of them.
The complaint:
“The State House has been giving people the NHRTL office phone number, when they call to ask the Governor or their Reps. to vote no on the repeal of parental notification. They are leaving the message for the governor on our machine. One woman, realizing the deception, called to tell us of the runaround she got. She says they say, “Oh, you have the wrong number, you need to call 626-7950″. What recourse do we have? The UL has been marginalizing us for sometime. They don’t print what I write, but they don’t print what they see either. Eh?”
THE LAW:
644:4 Harassment. –
I. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor, and subject to prosecution in the jurisdiction where the communication originated or was received, if such person:
(a) Makes a telephone call, whether or not a conversation ensues, with no legitimate communicative purpose or without disclosing his or her identity and with a purpose to annoy, abuse, threaten, or alarm another; or
(b) Makes repeated communications at extremely inconvenient hours or in offensively coarse language with a purpose to annoy or alarm another; or
(c) Insults, taunts, or challenges another in a manner likely to provoke a violent or disorderly response; or
(d) Knowingly communicates any matter of a character tending to incite murder, assault, or arson; or
(e) With the purpose to annoy or alarm another, communicates any matter containing any threat to kidnap any person or to commit a violation of RSA 633:4; or a threat to the life or safety of another; or
(f) With the purpose to annoy or alarm another, having been previously notified that the recipient does not desire further communication, communicates with such person, when the communication is not for a lawful purpose or constitutionally protected.
II. As used in paragraph I, “”communicates” means to impart a message by any method of transmission, including but not limited to telephoning or personally delivering or sending or having delivered any information or material by written or printed note or letter, package, mail, courier service or electronic transmission, including electronic transmissions generated or communicated via a computer. For purposes of this section, “”computer” means a programmable, electronic device capable of accepting and processing data.
III. In any complaint or information brought for the enforcement of RSA 644:4, I(f), it shall not be necessary for the state to negate any exception, excuse, proviso, or exemption contained therein and the burden of proof of any exception, excuse, proviso, or exemption shall be upon the defendant.
Validity
Paragraph I(a) of this section has been held unconstitutional in the case of State v. Brobst (2004) 151 N.H. 420, 857 A.2d 1253.
Paragraph I(f) of this section has been held unconstitutional in the case of State v. Pierce (2005) 152 N.H. 790, 887 A.2d 132.
Source. 1971, 518:1. 1994, 354:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1995. 1999, 141:1, eff. June 25, 1999. 2005, 138:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006.