New Hampshire
Protestors station ‘genital observation police’ outside N.H. State House restrooms as lawmakers OK bathroom bill – The Boston Globe
CONCORD, N.H. — When lawmakers reported to the New Hampshire State House on Thursday morning, those who hoped to freshen up before the legislative session began were met with an unusual sight at the restroom doors: guards standing sentry.
These guards weren’t there on official business. They had no authority, and they didn’t block anyone from entering. But each self-appointed bathroom bouncer wore a paper badge that said “genital observation police” — a cheeky way of expressing opposition to legislation they said would undermine privacy and invite discrimination against transgender, intersex, and gender-nonconforming people.
“Sometimes we are serious and we try to talk to our legislators,” said Nancy Brennan, as she stood guard outside the second-floor men’s room. “And sometimes we find a little bit of snark and humor can get the attention.”
To drive their point home, the protestors distributed small cards telling people they would need to allow a GOP lawmaker to inspect their private parts before they could use the restrooms, which are located just a few steps from each legislative chamber. Some passersby scoffed at the demonstration as immature, while others chuckled.
Brennan, who is affiliated with the Kent Street Coalition, a progressive political advocacy group in New Hampshire, said she came up with the badge idea to criticize both House Bill 148 — a Republican-backed bill that would add exceptions to the gender identity protections that currently exist in New Hampshire law — and those who support such legislation.
“A lot of these legislators are using this for points,” she said. “They don’t want to talk transgender people. They don’t want to understand where they’re coming from. They demonize them. And they demonize those of us who support them.”
While opponents of HB 148 say it will place transgender people and others at risk, proponents say they aim to protect women and girls. The legislation would identify certain situations as appropriate for classifying people on the basis of biological sex, rather than gender identity. Those situations include jails and other detention facilities; athletic or sporting events in which males are generally recognized as enjoying a physical advantage; locker rooms and multi-person bathrooms.
The legislation would allow, but not require, public and private entities statewide to separate such facilities and events by sex rather than gender.
Kamren Munz, a trans nonbinary person who has been using the men’s room for the past five years, said they have faced restroom-related discrimination, including being told to leave a facility based on perceptions of their gender, and HB 148 would make matters worse.
“It’s encouraging the general public to basically ask very invasive questions,” they said.
Munz — a former public school teacher who left the profession after drawing scrutiny from New Hampshire’s socially conservative education commissioner — was among the protesters who gathered Thursday morning at the urging of 603 Equality, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group. While Munz stood outside the second-floor women’s room, fellow demonstrators lined the halls and sang about their opposition to the legislation.
Despite the protest, HB 148 was approved in a party-line vote later Thursday by the Republicans who hold a supermajority in the 24-member New Hampshire Senate. The measure had already passed the 400-member House in March with approval from 198 Republicans, two Democrats, and one independent.
During debate, Republican Senator William M. Gannon said his support for the legislation was based partly on his daughter’s experience competing on an athletic field against a transgender opponent who was much taller and stronger than her. Gannon also said single-sex detention facilities are important for the safety of those detained.
Republican Senator Regina M. Birdsell said lawmakers need to protect privacy and the fairness of athletic competition for women and girls, who face blowback if they speak out about their discomfort when transgender people are allowed in single-sex spaces.
“Women are being marginalized in this environment,” she said, “and as far as I’m concerned, this has to stop.”
In a social media post, Republican Representative Lisa Mazur of said the badge-wearing protesters were “fighting against everything women have fought so hard for over the years.”
This legislation is very similar to a bill that Republican former governor Christopher T. Sununu vetoed last year, when he signed into law a separate bill that bars transgender girls from girls’ school sports. (The constitutionality of that sports law is being disputed in a pending federal lawsuit.)
Sununu had signed legislation in 2018 and 2019 to add gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law and apply those protections to school settings. He said some of the carve-outs that lawmakers wanted to add in 2024 tried “to solve problems that have not presented themselves in New Hampshire.” The legislation would invite “unnecessary discord,” he said.
It’s not yet clear whether Republican Governor Kelly A. Ayotte, who took office in January, will sign HB 148 into law.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
New Hampshire
Bank Robber, Sexual Assaulter, With 40-Plus Year Criminal History, Wanted On Parole Violation: NH DOC
CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire Department of Corrections is asking for the public’s help in finding a sex offender and robbery convict, with “violent tendencies,” who is wanted on a parole violation.
Michael J. Wells is 60, white, about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighs around 150 lbs. He has dirty blond hair and hazel eyes. Officials said Wells sometimes uses the following aliases: “Michael Morris,” “Michael Morse,” and “Michael Kirby.” He has Tasmanian devil, star, moon, and skull tattoos on his right arm and a cross over a skull with a spider web on his left arm.
The warrant against Wells was issued by the New Hampshire Parole Board as well as Manchester police for duty to report, after accusing him of absconding from parole and failing to register as a sex offender.
“In December 1994,” an alert stated, “Wells was convicted of aggravated felonious sexual assault and as a result, is required to register as a Tier III sex offender for the remainder of his life. Wells is currently on Parole Supervision for robbery.”
In December 2018, Wells robbed the Citizens Bank in Manchester, passing a note stating, “I have a gun. No tracking. No dye bag. $20-$50 quickly. No alarm.” In August 2021, he committed the same offense under similar circumstances, officials said, after he was placed on escape status from the Calumet Transitional Housing Unit. He was arrested in Massachusetts a few weeks later.
Wells is known to frequent both Concord and Manchester.
Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the New Hampshire Department of Corrections and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.
Wells criminal history dates back more than four decades, according to superior court records, after he was accused of forgery in Nashua in August 1985. In June 1988, he was convicted on one forgery charge.
Wells was accused of theft in 1990 and he pleaded guilty to the charge a month later.
Wells was accused of bail jumping in February 1989.
In 1994, Wells was accused of aggravated felonious sexual assault, sexual assault, and second-degree assault charges in Nashua. In December 1994, he pleaded guilty to the second-degree assault charge. Wells was found guilty by the court on one aggravated felonious sexual assault charge in January 1996.
Wells was also accused of escape in December 1998.
In 2005 and 2006, more charges were racked up, including four acts prohibited counts in Nashua, a false report to law enforcement, receiving stolen property, two acts prohibited counts in Salem, and forgery in Manchester. Wells was found guilty on two of the drug charges in Salem and the Manchester forgery charge, while the others were nolle prossed.
In April 2019, Wells was convicted on the December 2018 bank robbery charges. He was given a three-and-a-half-to-10-year sentence with 136 days of time served credit and a 10-to-20-year sentence, suspended for 10 years.
New Hampshire
N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe
One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.
The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.
“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.
A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.
Modifying civil rights standard
Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).
The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.
The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.
Open enrollment for K-12 schools
A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.
The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.
In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.
Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.
Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
New Hampshire
Boston MedFlight expands into NH
Boston MedFlight often touches down at the scene of some of the worst tragedies in New England – where minutes can mean life or death for a victim. The critical care transport operation is now expanding with a new base in New Hampshire.
The organization is hosting an open house at the new Manchester location on Thursday.
Boston MedFlight flies a critical care transport paramedic and nurse on every flight. Jaik Hanley-McCarthy says their helicopters and ground vehicles are equipped to handle just about any emergency medical procedure.
“Anything that can be done in the ICU,” explained Hanley-McCarthy. “We have a mobile lab so we can draw blood and run labs in real time.”
Boston MedFlight now has five bases across the region.
“Having a base in Manchester just expands this Boston-level care even further north to the more remote areas of the state,” said Hanley-McCarthy.
Boston MedFlight operates as a network of bases and some of the locations are staffed 24 hours.
Chief Executive Officer Maura Hughes says the nonprofit operation survives on public and private donations.
“We provide about $7 million in free care every year to patients,” said Hughes. “Not every hospital can be everything to every patient. We’re really the glue that keeps the health care system together.”
Heather Young says her daughter, Teighan, is still alive because she was flown for a critical assessment and procedure after falling off a truck and hitting her head.
“She should not be driving and walking and talking and all the things she’s doing as quickly as she is,” said Young.
Teighan just turned 18 and plans to go to college to study the medical field.
“I want to be a nurse and help other people,” she said.
It’s stories like this that keep the men and women who work Boston MedFlight focused on their mission.
“I think we just go call by call and try to do the best we can,” said Hanley-McCarthy. “I think when we stop and truly think about it, I think that weight is pretty heavy.”
Boston MedFlight also has a yearly reunion where patients and the team get together here in Bedford to meet and check in on their progress. It really shows you how connected they are to the people they help.
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