Supporters of a bill to repeal New Hampshire’s “stand-your-ground” law testified at a Senate hearing Tuesday that the law threatens public safety and has led to more homicides in states with similar laws, all when there was no defined need for it in the first place.

The law, pushed through by Republicans two years ago over a governor’s veto and objections from law enforcement, allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves any place they have a right to be without having a duty to retreat. The Democrat-controlled House voted 189-184 earlier in the session in favor of repeal.

Thirty Democrats defected either because they don’t support repeal or feared a backlash from gun groups in a state where support for gun rights is strong.

Read the rest of Morgan True’s report for the Associated Press via Sea Coast Online