State Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, urged the N.H. Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to support his bill to prohibit people from carrying guns on to school property.
“As a concerned citizen, legislator and most importantly, a parent with young children I believe that this legislation is crucial for the safety and well-being of our schools and communities,” he said.
“By prohibiting the possession of firearms on school property, this bill helps to mitigate the risk of gun-related incidents and promotes a sense of security among students, educators and parents alike.”
Senate Bill 593 would allow school officials and police to more quickly identify and respond to threats at schools, Fenton said. It would not apply to law enforcement officers, school resource officers, on-duty members of the military and people specially authorized by a local school board to have a gun on campus.
An existing New Hampshire law prohibits students from having a gun on school grounds, but the statute doesn’t apply to adults.
“This bill asks that if you have a gun, you keep it in your car if you’re dropping off your kids, plain and simple,” Fenton said.
He said he was in 6th grade when the Columbine High School massacre took place in 1999.
“Since then, we’ve practiced hiding under chairs, lockdowns and evacuations,” Fenton said. “I don’t want my kids to live in fear and this is the direction we are heading.
“There is no reason for an adult to carry a weapon in school unless they are law enforcement.”
Last Friday, there was a two-hour lockdown at Lebanon High School and Hanover Street School over a man with four loaded guns in his pickup truck in front of the schools, police said. He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and was transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for a mental health evaluation.
There have been nearly 200 school shootings on K-12 campuses in the country since 2018, according to Education Week.
Fenton said he is a gun owner himself and values his constitutional gun rights but is also a father concerned about the safety of children.
“It is essential to recognize that certain environments such as schools require special consideration due to the vulnerability of the population present,” he said. “By establishing clear guidelines regarding firearm possession on school property, we can strike a balance between protecting public safety and upholding 2nd Amendment rights.”
GOP Gov. Chris Sununu and Republicans in the N.H. Legislature have opposed gun safety legislation in recent years, and instead have worked to expand gun rights. All nine of the sponsors on Fenton’s bill are Democrats.
In 2017, the first bill Sununu signed into law repealed the license requirement to carry a concealed gun.
Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Windham, said in the Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that he strongly opposes the bill and characterized it as “the ultimate feel-good legislation.”
He said gunmen intent on doing violence at schools wouldn’t care about any ban on bringing weapons to a campus.
Lynnn said he feels safer when he’s around responsible armed people, noting that some legislators bring their guns into the N.H. State House.
“The people that I know who own guns are responsible people and the people who are not responsible people are not going to be stopped by this.”
In 2019, when Democrats controlled the N.H. Legislature, lawmakers passed bills to prohibit possession of firearms on school property (HB 564), require background checks for commercial firearms sales (HB 514) and impose a waiting period between purchase and delivery of a handgun (HB 109).
Sununu vetoed all three.
In his Aug. 9, 2019, veto message, he said the nation must address the root causes of hate and violence. He said New Hampshire has worked to improve school safety, improve the mental health system, prosecute hate crimes and generally make the state a more tolerant place.
“These three bills would not solve our national issues nor would they prevent evil individuals from doing harm, but they would further restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding New Hampshire citizens.”
There is a federal law against people having a gun in school zones, but it would be up to federal officers to enforce that law. Also, a state statute bans state and local governments from cooperating with federal firearm laws that are inconsistent with state laws.
A 2018 opinion from the N.H. Attorney General’s office said school policies prohibiting the public from carrying guns onto school property violate state law.
At present, some school officials may be left to wonder what to do if they see an adult on campus with a gun, Fenton said.
“An adult walks into a school with a gun, a teacher doesn’t know if this is an active shooter threat,” he said. “Does the teacher go into lockdown, does the teacher call the police? It’s so murky.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee will eventually schedule a vote on whether or not to recommend the full Senate pass SB 593.
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