Guns

Administrators and state officials are again discussing safety in the classroom after another school shooting took place earlier this month. This time in Santa Fe, Texas.

Last week on Morning Edition, Rick Ganley spoke with incoming Somersworth High School Principal John Shea about his thoughts on how the state and Gov. Chris Sununu is responding to school safety issues.

Red flag laws allow family members or law enforcement to petition to get taken guns away from potential mass-shooters.  A handful of states have these laws, including Vermont, but more are considering this approach.  Still, they raise lots of questions: who decides that someone poses a threat, and do these laws make a difference?  

Administrators and lawmakers continue to discuss safety in the classroom after another school shooting took place earlier this month. This time it was in Santa Fe, Texas. 

Educator John Shea will take over as principal of Somersworth High School in July. He's asked Governor Chris Sununu and his task force on school safety to make sure to include discussions of gun regulation during their meetings.

(Editor's note: this transcript has been edited lightly for clarity.)

When we think about gun deaths in the United States, we usually think about mass shootings, like the one last week in Santa Fe, Texas -- tragedies that have deeply divided the country.

But in New Hampshire, most gun deaths are suicides.

Several hundred students from High Schools across New Hampshire gathered at the State House for the March on Senators. NHPR’s Sean Hurley sends us his report.

There was chanting…and speeches…but organizer Jennifer White said that she and her fellow students didn’t want to simply repeat last month’s rally. “I think that's a big thing for why we wanted this to be so focused on our senators,” White said, “Because we want to try to keep moving forward with change.”

This March was less of a public rally - more a group meeting with a number of democratic legislators.

Students from across New Hampshire walked out of their schools -- and some gathered at the State House -- to call for stricter gun control on Friday.

But as NHPR’s Jason Moon reports, at a Catholic high school in Manchester, students took part in the national movement in their own way.

After the Parkland shooting last month, Hanover High School junior Dakota Hanchett heard someone at The New York Times had reached out to a teacher at school, asking if they knew any students that used firearms regularly.

Of all the schools in the area, Hanover High was an odd choice for this request, Dakota knew. It’s in an Ivy League college town, one of the most liberal communities in New England. 

  Students marched in rallies across the country this past weekend to bring awareness to gun violence and school safety. The "March for Our Lives" rallies were part of a national movement led by students of a high school in Parkland, Fla., where a mass shooting took place last month.

Molly Robert, a senior at Kennett High School in North Conway, spoke with NHPR two weeks ago while students were preparing for the event. She joined Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley today to talk about what's next for student activists here in the Granite State.

March for Our Lives rallies took place around the country - and across the state this past Saturday in Portsmouth, Peterborough and Nashua, among other places. 

In Concord, an estimated 4,000 people convened at the State House following a march from Concord High School. NHPR’s Sean Hurley was there. 

A lot of people hear "cooperative business" and think of their local food co-ops. But, the co-op model isn't limited to bulk bins of quinoa - it was designed to share profits with workers and give small businesses leverage against megastores.

So, what role do they play in the Granite State? 

Plus, we'll hear from area high school students, in this post-Parkland moment, who are organizing to tell lawmakers: Never Again. 

In Portsmouth, students had planned a walkout for the morning but it was interrupted by the snow storm, which caused a delayed school opening.

But that didn’t keep Portsmouth students from having their message heard.

Students across the U.S. and around the Granite State will be walking out of school Wednesday calling for stronger gun control and school safety reform. This follows a national movement led by students of a high school in Parkland, Florida where a mass shooting took place in February.

Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley spoke with Molly Robert, a senior at Kennett High School in North Conway. 

It’s not often that a political candidate announces his or her platform, and then is immediately challenged by passionate opponents.

But last week, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Marchand stood on the steps of the Lebanon City Hall taking questions - not from reporters, but passionate gun rights advocates.

NPR's senior editor and correspondent for the Washington Desk, Ron Elving, joins us to talk about the biggest news in our nation's capital this week, including President Trump's trade announcements, the resignation of the President's top economic advisor, Gary Cohn, and more. 

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Marchand laid out his plan to curb gun violence Tuesday, and his announcement in Lebanon inspired an impromptu public debate about the 2nd Amendment.

Marchand is the only Democrat so far in the race against incumbent Republican Governor Chris Sununu.

Concord Police Lt. Michael Pearl says there are many problems with arming teachers with guns--something the President has suggested--to keep schools safe.

Speaking Tuesday on NHPR's The Exchange, he said there are training and liability issues. He also questions how a teacher would react in a critical moment.

"I don’t think it’s a viable solution. There are so many other options that we could work toward for prevention and awareness and training, that that’s not part of the equation," Pearl said. 

We look at how school shootings is impacting students, teachers, and school communities, after the shooting in Parkland, FL.