The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today congratulated members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives for voting to expand the state’s self-defense statute by over-riding Gov. John Lynch’s veto.
The 251-111 House vote Wednesday afternoon follows a 17-7 vote by the State Senate last week, enabling SB 88 to become law. The legislation was opposed by gun prohibition and anti-self-defense groups that insisted it would close the door for recourse by innocent bystanders who might be accidentally shot in a self-defense situation. Law enforcement officials also reportedly opposed the measure.
“The right of a citizen to defend himself or herself or their families from violent attack is sacrosanct in this country,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “That right does not, and should not, end abruptly on the front porch of someone’s home, but cover situations that could erupt in any public place where a citizen has a right to be.
“Law-abiding citizens in other states,” he continued, “enjoy full self-defense rights, and there is no reason why the good people of New Hampshire should be treated any differently. The expansion of self-defense rights has not – as anti-gunners have consistently predicted – led to widespread incidents of vigilante justice or careless use of deadly force. Responsible armed citizens do not live down to such hysterical misrepresentations, and the anti-self-defense lobby knows it.”
Gottlieb particularly thanked House Speaker William O’Brien for what appears to have been a change of heart, allowing the override vote after earlier suggestions that no such vote would be entertained.
“We are confident that New Hampshire citizens will demonstrate the same due care and caution that citizens of other states have shown,” Gottlieb observed. “It is utter nonsense to believe that any citizen should leave his personal safety, and the safety of his loved ones, parked at home.”
