New Hampshire

Pro-gun group: Adding mental health records to NH do-not-sell list ‘insane,’ ‘crazy’

Published

10 months ago

March 19, 2024

Pro-gun group: Adding mental health records to NH do-not-sell list ‘insane,’ ‘crazy’

Annmarie Timmins
| New Hampshire Bulletin

Pro-gun rights groups have made a Second Amendment argument against a New Hampshire bill that would stop gun sales to individuals whom a court had found dangerous enough to require commitment to a psychiatric hospital. One speaker warned a House committee at a public hearing last month against limiting the “God-given” right to own a gun.

The New Hampshire Firearms Coalition is reaching out to voters with another argument that mental health advocates – and the bill’s Republican sponsor – say is derogatory: It argues that it is “crazy” and “insane” to address public safety concerns by adding individuals hospitalized in limited circumstances to a do-not-sell list, as House Bill 1711 would.

The bill was prompted by the November shooting death of state hospital security officer Bradley Hass by former patient John Madore, who was then shot and killed by a state trooper. Madore had been committed to the state hospital at least once and had his guns confiscated in 2016.

The gun rights coalition instead argues that people hospitalized due to mental illness and dangerousness should be detained in the hospital until they are well. Upon release, it says, they should not be kept from buying a gun.

“If these people are so violent that they need to be disarmed, why are they released at all?” reads the flyer, which was sent to some House Republicans and their constituents. On the opposite side, it says: “Crazy is as crazy does.”

Rep. Terry Roy, a Deerfield Republican who co-sponsored HB 1711 with House Democratic Rep. David Meuse of Portsmouth, received the flyer, as did his constituents.

“It was insulting,” said Roy. “It was demeaning to anyone who has a mental illness, which a large portion of our population will at some point.” An estimated 1 in 5 people experiences a mental illness each year. Roy said that once he explained the bill to the couple of constituents who called him, “they were happy.”

Susan Stearns, executive director of NAMI New Hampshire, responded similarly when she saw the flyer.

“It’s deliberately trying to exploit the stereotype around people with mental illness being violent and needing to be kept away from society,” she said. “Ultimately that hurts a lot of Granite Staters and perpetuates that type of stereotype and stigma.”

Stearns and Roy said the flyer also misrepresents and overlooks the bill’s intent and measured balance between public safety and respecting the civil rights of people with mental illness. Not all mental health hospitalizations would qualify someone to be added to the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System. And there would be a clearly defined process for getting off the list.

Rep. J.R. Hoell, a Dunbarton Republican and secretary of the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, interprets the bill and flyer differently.

While the flyer does not say so, Hoell said he believes most people with mental illness are not violent and are more often the victims of violence. The use of “crazy” and “insane” was a “play on words,” he said, not intended to be insulting.

In Hoell’s mind, the bill would wrongly criminalize mental illness by allowing the federal government to deny people who’ve never committed a crime their Second Amendment rights simply because they’ve been involuntarily hospitalized due to danger concerns.

However, federal law already prohibits anyone committed to a psychiatric institution from buying or possessing a gun; New Hampshire, however, does not submit the relevant information to the database.

“This magic list does not solve the issue,” Hoell said, noting that upon release someone can get a gun beyond a gun store. “If you are a threat to others, you need residential care. If you don’t need residential care, you are not a threat to others. It’s A or B.”

Meuse remembers the day Roy, who has voted against every gun safety bill Meuse has supported, asked him to co-sponsor HB 1711. The two have collaborated on bail reform legislation but never shared common ground on gun bills.

“I just remember being really surprised and then thinking to myself, ‘OK, don’t do anything to screw this up,’” Meuse said. “This is a really good thing.”

It will go to the full House later this month with an overwhelming 18-2 vote from the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee that it be passed. In emotional testimony, the state hospital’s associate medical director called the shooting, during which the hospital security notification system failed, “one of the worst moments of my life.”

While eight committee Republicans joined Democrats in backing the bill, Roy knows he’ll face a fight on the House floor from Hoell, libertarians, and some in his own party.

“I’m disappointed in the shortsightedness of the Second Amendment community,” Roy said. “What they don’t seem to get is that we are better off not having dangerous people buying firearms because every time there is a mass shooting and someone has a mental health issue, there are calls for more restrictions on firearms.”

The bill would not apply to people who seek behavioral health treatment voluntarily or those who are the subject of an involuntary emergency admission petition.

The legislation would apply only to people who are involuntarily admitted on a non-emergency basis, after a court hearing, during which they would have legal representation. A judge would have to find them to have a mental condition that makes them dangerous to themselves or others.

The bill allows a court to confiscate an individual’s firearms and ammunition, but the person would have more control over how those guns are taken and where they are held.

The bill would provide a person the opportunity to petition a court for review of their “mental capacity,” a first step to being removed from the database. In some cases, they could do that within 15 days after their “absolute” discharge, meaning they are complying with treatment requirements. In other cases they must wait six months.

The Disability Rights Center-NH and NAMI NH required the bill include a process to be removed from the database. And the former persuaded the committee to limit the type of information entered into the database to protect individuals’ privacy. Even then, the Disability Rights Center-NH said it won’t support the bill because of civil rights concerns but also won’t oppose it.

Those same civil rights concerns will lead Hoell to oppose it vehemently.

At best, he said, he’d support a state “patient list” of people deemed a danger to others due to a short-term mental illness. That would keep information out of federal hands, a priority, he said. He would support a legal path to regaining the right to buy and purchase a gun.

Meuse believes there are other New Hampshire gun owners, some of them lawmakers, who will split with Hoell and back the bill. And he thinks the shooting death of Haas by an individual who was committed to a psychiatric facility and had his guns confiscated will be persuasive.

“When you see the surveys, it’s not just Democrats and the left, (but) a lot of people who own firearms, who hunt, who basically think that we’ve just sort of reached the point where if we don’t do something, the consequences of doing nothing are going to catch up to us even faster.”

This story was originally published by the New Hampshire Bulletin.

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New Hampshire

3.8 magnitude earthquake off York, Maine coastline rattles Seacoast

Published

2 hours ago

January 27, 2025

Press Room

3.8 magnitude earthquake off York, Maine coastline rattles Seacoast

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 10 miles off the coast of York, Maine on Monday.

The earthquake was recorded at 10:22 a.m. on Monday and was about 10 kilometers southeast of York Harbor, according to USGS. It shook at a depth of 13.2 km. There is no tsunami danger from this earthquake.

The earthquake was originally reported as a 4.1 magnitude quake by USGS and then downgraded.

People across New Hampshire reported feeling the earthquake.

The New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) said that New Hampshire 911 did not receive any calls about injury or damage as of 10:45 a.m. They encouraged residents to be prepared for all types of hazards, including earthquakes.

“Include all hazards when you are creating a family emergency plan,” said HSEM Director Robert Buxton. “You should also hold regular drills to practice what to do during an earthquake. It’s the best way to keep you and your family safe.”

Local schools, fire departments react

Staff at Mary C. Dondero Elementary School in Portsmouth, New Hampshire pulled the fire alarm after shaking began and had the entire school briefly evacuate, according to superintendent of schools Zach McLaughlin. No other school in Portsmouth evacuated during the course of the earthquake.

“The reality is, as New Englanders, many of whom have lived here our whole lives, this might be everybody’s first earthquake experience,” McLaughlin said Monday morning. “I think folks did the right thing but once it was clear that we were in good condition, folks returned to the building.”

City school department officials have not found any property damage in any of the school buildings thus far in the wake of the quake, McLaughlin added.

Portsmouth Fire Department Chief Bill McQuillen reported there had been no calls regarding personal injuries or property damage as of approximately 11 a.m. Monday.

The city sent out alerts to residents and automated messages urging any personal injuries or structural damages to be reported to authorities.

“We wanted to try and get out the word as quickly as possible and make sure the city sent out a message as soon as possible,” McQuillen said.

Over the Piscataqua River, calls were made to Kittery, Maine’s fire department but no injuries were reported and no property damage had been found.

“Our dispatch center took a lot of calls from concerned citizens reporting that they think something happened at their property,” Kittery fire Chief Craig Alfis stated. “So far everything has stabilized out and our dispatchers are back to normal operation. We haven’t been out on a call in 15 minutes so fingers crossed we’re past that.”

No calls had been made expressing concern about the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, per Alfis.

“Reports are coming in from various parts of town about noticeable shaking. We are aware of the earthquake and are actively assessing impacts. Please only contact public safety dispatch if you have an emergency,” the town of Kittery advised in an email.

Where was the NH earthquake? How far did it reach?

According to the USGS, Monday morning’s earthquake originated off the southeast coast of York Harbor, Maine.

York Harbor is about 10 miles north of the New Hampshire border.

Light shaking from the earthquake was felt as far south as Cape Cod, according to the USGS, though some people in Rhode Island also reported feeling the earthquake.

How strong was the NH earthquake?

Monday’s earthquake is being measured at 3.8 on the magnitude scale, according to the USGS.

According to Michigan Tech, earthquake magnitudes between 2.5-5.4 are often felt but typically only cause minor damage. Earthquake magnitudes measured at 7.0 and higher are considered major earthquakes.

How common are earthquakes in NH?

New Hampshire has a moderate earthquake risk based on its position in the North American plate: according to a 2019 fact sheet from the NH Department of Environmental Services, there have been 65 earthquakes above magnitude 2.1 since 1638.

New Hampshire’s earthquake risk rating is based on frequency rather than intensity.

What was the biggest earthquake in NH history?

While earthquakes in New Hampshire tend to be smaller, there have been similar magnitude earthquakes in the past, such as a 4.0 magnitude quake in Southern Maine in 2012 and another near Laconia in 1982.

The strongest earthquakes with an epicenter in New Hampshire in state history happened four days apart in December of 1940. Each had a magnitude of 5.8.

This story will be updated.

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New Hampshire

Looking Back: The Indian Stream commissioners conclude that New Hampshire can rule the territory

Published

14 hours ago

January 27, 2025

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Looking Back: The Indian Stream commissioners conclude that New Hampshire can rule the territory

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New Hampshire

Two Snow Systems Heading To New Hampshire This Week: Forecasters

Published

1 day ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

Two Snow Systems Heading To New Hampshire This Week: Forecasters

CONCORD, NH — Weather forecasters are predicting two snowstorm systems will move into the region, but they are not expecting significant accumulation.

On Sunday morning, the National Weather Service issued a “hazardous weather outlook” for the state, warning that snowstorms were expected on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first storm will bring “heavy snow showers or snow squalls” with the passing cold front.

“In addition,” the alert said, “westerly wind gusts between 35-45 mph are possible.”

No snow accumulation for Tuesday was posted in the alert.

AccuWeather.com, however, said the Tuesday system had a 63 percent of delivering “a coasting to an inch” to Concord and the capital region sometime between 4 and 10 a.m. In Nashua and southern New Hampshire, including Salem and inland Rockingham County, there is an 81 percent chance of “little to no accumulation.” No snow is expected on the Seacoast.

For Wednesday, NWS forecasters said, “There is the potential for a light to moderate snowfall on Wednesday from a clipper system.” Snow accumulation amounts were published.

On Monday, expect mostly cloudy skies, highs in the mid-30s, and lows in the mid-20s, with wind gusts up to 30 mph.

On Tuesday, snow is expected before the afternoon, and then the sun reappears. Temps will be in the upper 20s and into the teens at night. Wind gusts could be as high as 35 mph.

Snow is expected in the early and late morning on Wednesday, with highs near 30 and overnight lows in the single digits.

As a cold front moves into the state on Thursday, temps will drop into the teens during the day and near zero during the evening.

Similar weather is expected on Friday.

The most up-to-date weather is available on every Patch.com site in the United States. This includes the 14 New Hampshire Patch news and community websites for Amherst, Bedford, Concord, Exeter, Hampton, Londonderry, Manchester, Merrimack, Milford, Nashua, North Hampton, Portsmouth, Salem, Windham, and Across NH. Patch posts local weather reports for New Hampshire every Sunday and Wednesday and publishes alerts as needed.

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