New Hampshire House Republicans, including Majority Leader Jason Osborne, announced support for the Protecting College Students Act, often called “campus carry,” at a State House press conference, NH Journal reports. Sponsors argued that university policies barring students from defending themselves conflict with state law and the state constitution.
According to NH Journal, GOP lawmakers framed the push as a direct response to recent violence.
On Wednesday, New Hampshire House Republicans responded by announcing a push to expand the rights of college students to protect themselves from criminal violence.
NH Journal
Leadership lined up behind the bill at the press conference.
GOP House leadership, including Majority Leader Jason Osborne, announced support for the Protecting College Students Act — or “campus carry,” as some lawmakers called it — at a State House press conference.
NH Journal
Bill sponsor Rep. Sam Farrington, a UNH senior, said existing campus policies leave students exposed, NH Journal reports.
“Brown University had a school policy that prevented college students from defending themselves … Brown left those students as defenseless victims inside that room.”
NH Journal
Farrington argued that the authority to regulate firearms rests with the legislature, citing the constitution and state statute.
Farrington cited Article 2-a of the New Hampshire Constitution and RSA 159:26, arguing that the authority to regulate firearms belongs exclusively to the state legislature, not university administrators.
NH Journal
He cast self-defense as a fundamental right and challenged opponents to vote, NH Journal reports.
“Self-defense is not a privilege. It is a God-given right,” Farrington said.
NH Journal
The press conference drew a sharp partisan contrast, with Republicans casting the bill as a matter of self-defense and Democrats warning that more firearms on campus would endanger students, NH Journal reports. Rep. David Meuse called Republicans “profoundly tone-deaf” on the gun issue, and opponents argued that increased availability of firearms leads to more violence rather than greater safety.
Farrington, who is both a lawmaker and a current UNH student, grounded much of his argument in his own experience on campus and pressed House Democrats to back the measure when it reaches the floor, NH Journal reports. With GOP leadership behind the bill and Democrats lined up against it, the proposal is positioned as one of the more closely watched gun-policy fights of the session.
The proposal would expand the ability of college students to carry firearms for self-defense, and its backers argue current university policies conflict with both state law and the New Hampshire Constitution, NH Journal reports. Sponsor Rep. Sam Farrington cited Article 2-a and RSA 159:26 in contending that only the legislature can regulate firearms.
Opponents counter that adding more guns to campuses would endanger students rather than protect them, with Rep. David Meuse calling Republicans profoundly tone-deaf on the issue, according to NH Journal. Farrington, who is both a lawmaker and a current UNH senior, pressed House Democrats to back the measure when it reaches the floor, setting up one of the more closely watched gun-policy fights of the session.
Read the full story at NH Journal.
