Constitutional Carry Fail in New Hampshire

via TTAG

Yesterday, Democrat Governor Maggie Hassan vetoed New Hampshire bill SB116 which would have removed the licensing requirement for concealed carry. New Hampshire currently permits permitless open carry, but if you want to carry concealed, you must submit an application to your local CLEO (or Town Selectman if your town is too small for its own police force). SB116 had passed the New Hampshire Senate 14-9 in February on a strict party line vote – Republicans in favor, Statists Democrats opposed. It had gone on to the House in April where it had passed 212-150. The house vote was more mixed with some Republicans voting against the bill and a few Democrats in favor of it . . .

Hassan justified the veto this way:

“New Hampshire’s current concealed carry permitting law has worked well for nearly a century — safeguarding the Second Amendment rights of our citizens while helping to keep the Granite State one of the safest states in the nation,” Hassan said. “Our concealed weapons permitting system gives an important oversight role to local law enforcement, while allowing for appeals through appropriate channels.”

New Hampshire now joins Montana and West Virginia as the third state this year in which constitutional carry was passed by the people’s representatives only to have Democrats in the governors’ mansions shoot the proposals down.

While a veto override is technically possible, it would require 3/4 of the members of both houses to accomplish that feat – unlikely at best. Constitutional carry is dead in the Live Free or Die State. At least until it figures how to rid itself of Mommy Hassan.