N.H. House Allows Concealed Carry Guns on House Floor

For the third time in nearly a decade, the Republican-led New Hampshire House of Representatives has voted to allow concealed carry handguns on the House floor.

According to the Boston Globe, the measure was among the first voted on by the Legislature, which began its session yesterday.

“We’re not talking about the Wild West,” said state Representative Fred Rice, R-Hampton. “We’re not talking about irresponsible people running around waving guns in the air. … We’re asking for the right to do what we do in our daily lives.”

As the Globe reports, concealed carry handguns were initially banned in House chambers in the early 70s. The ban was reversed in 2006, but reinstated just three years later under Democratic leadership. In 2010, the Republicans once again seized control o the house and lifted the restriction. In 2012, the newly-elected Democratic leadership opted to once again institute the ban.

“This has been somewhat of a political football in recent years,” Jim Rivers, communications director for the House speaker’s office, told the Globe. “We’ll wait until 2016 and see what happens.”

Rep. John Burt, R-Goffstown, proposed the latest measure. While he applauds the efforts of the officers who work on the legislative campus, he told the Globe that he would feel more secure being allowed to carry a concealed gun on the House floor for added protection.

“Where I have an issue is if a nut with a gun comes into this chamber,” he said. “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, whether it is a state trooper or a fellow representative.”