guns

Attorney General Joseph Foster says New Hampshire will start reporting certain individuals suffering from mental illness to the national gun background check system.

Federal law prohibits the possession of firearms by people who have been "adjudicated as a mental defective" or committed to a hospital. But New Hampshire is one of a few states that doesn't report these records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

New Hampshire gun manufacturer Sig Sauer lost an appeal in a US Appeals Court this week. The dispute was over the classification of a “silencer" device.

As the U.S. Senate debates measures to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, New Hampshire's Senator Kelly Ayotte is throwing her support to a proposal drafted by Maine Senator Susan Collins.

The plan would bar people on the TSA's no-fly and selected lists from buying guns. It also creates an appeals process where people wrongly blocked from buying gun could recover legal fees from the federal government.

A ruling by the New Hampshire Supreme Court could make it easier for out-of-state gun owners to obtain concealed-carry licenses.

The court on Thursday sided with a New Jersey man who argued that the New Hampshire Department of Safety overstepped its authority in 2013 when it enacted new rules for nonresidents applying for concealed-carry permits. Under those rules, applicants must supply proof that they have such licenses in their home states.

Governor Maggie Hassan says last week's shooting of two Manchester police officers by a suspect who with mental health problems illustrates the need for New Hampshire to do a better job of keeping guns away from people who shouldn't have them.

"I think this issue needs to be looked at by a broad coalition of stakeholders and that is certainly one of the questions that they should address. I think we should work together to take steps forward to improve public safety and public heath of New Hampshire," Hassan said.

House lawmakers have voted 217-132 to require local officials to issue conceal weapons permits to person not barred from owning a gun.

The mostly party line vote came after the GOP-controlled house overturned a committee recommendation to kill the bill.

Seabrook Republican Max Abramson told colleagues this bill was about making sure a constitutional right is unabridged.

"Senate bill 336 would simply restore the right of law abiding gun owners, who have the lawful right to open carry, to simply put on their jacket."

Officials say 11,000 New Hampshire state employees will begin mandatory training on active shooter situations next month.

The Concord Monitor reports Gov. Maggie Hassan's office developed the course in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Safety following the San Bernardino, California, mass shooting that killed 14 people earlier this month.

The two-hour class will teach employees what to do if an active shooter ever entered a state building. It's based on a national model that also stresses the warning signs of suspicious activity.

NHPR's Senior Political Reporter Josh Rogers joins Morning Edition most Monday mornings for "On The Political Front."

New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte says those on the no-fly list should be banned from purchasing guns.

Ayotte made her position known Sunday on Twitter, saying that those on the watch list should not be able to purchase firearms.

She also called for due process for Americans who are wrongfully on the list.  

The New Hampshire House voted in a nearly a 2-1 margin to reject a bill to require criminal background checks on all commercial firearm sales.

Prior to the vote, Republican John Burt from Goffstown, argued that requiring criminal background checks would be a waste of time.

“All this bill is going to do is interrupt law-abiding citizens, that’s all any gun legislation does, because the criminal will always have his gun,” Burt said yesterday.

  The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will hear arguments Thursday on a bill that would expand background checks for gun sales in the state.

The bill, sponsored by five Democratic representatives and one Republican senator, would require all commercial sales or transfers use a licensed firearms dealer. Licensed dealers are required to vet buyers through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. But sales at gun shows or through personal ads are currently possible without background checks.

Legislators can again carry concealed weapons on the floor of the N.H. House and in the legislative office building after the Republicans-led house voted to undo a prohibition on the practice put in place two years ago by Democrats.

The 228-149 vote came following a debate where Democrats like Len DiSesa, former deputy police chief in Portsmouth, argued allowing guns in the chamber risks public safety.

“The only people who should be armed in the House of Representatives are trained police officers.”

Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was in New Hampshire Wednesday pushing for stronger gun laws.

Giffords was shot in the head during a campaign event in 2011, and is in the midst of a nine-state tour. She says strengthening gun laws would protect victims of domestic violence.

She made stops in Manchester and Concord on behalf of Americans for Responsible Solutions.

Executive director Pia Carusone says keeping the state’s Congressional Democrats in office is critical to the organization’s cause.

The House has killed a bill that allowed people barred from buying guns for mental health reasons to prove to a judge they're capable of owning a firearm.