New Hampshire State Sen. Debra Altschiller has recently introduced a red flag law to the N.H. Senate Judiciary Committee according to a Jan. 26 Keene Sentinel article. She cites public safety and the shooting in Lewiston, Maine. as motivators for the legislation.
Altschiller, however, will have an uphill battle. Senate Republicans, like N.H. State Sen. Sharon Carson, are going to pose a problem for this legislation. Carson has come out against this legislation, fearing arbitrary gun removals and does not view this potential solution as a “panacea.” However, I want to flesh out some of the statements Carson made to the Keene Sentinel.
Carson told the Keene Sentinel there have been times where red flag laws have been passed and “still failed” and that “ it is not a universal panacea.”
Whether or not something is a panacea, should not be why you write of legislation as useless. Now, I do not think any reasonable person would think this or any legislation would be a panacea. If the only laws that were passed solved 100 percent of the target issue’s problems we would be living in anarchy.
Carson had also stated that being “mentally ill is not a crime,” and they have not “broken the law” and the problem lies with the fact that others are determining this for these folks.
I agree, being mentally ill is not a crime and should not be treated as such. However, just because it is not a crime does not mean one should be able to put themselves or others in harm’s way. Conservatives do not want to inconvenience someone who may be having a mental break by holding guns temporarily, but legalizing pot is bad because it will ruin society and stinks. Sounds a little backwards to me, but what do I know?
One more statement of Carson’s I would like to visit is this, “I find this disturbing because you’re trying to prevent someone from committing suicide. I think this kind of thing might be something that pushes somebody over the edge.”
I think that it is disturbing that she finds preventing suicide disturbing. I would think trying to prevent suicide would be a good thing. To her other point, I think it is an incredibly bold statement to say potential gun seizures is what is going to push a suicidal person over the edge. I can think of many reasons why someone might go over the edge, and I could be wrong, but a temporary hold on my guns would not seem too high on the list to me.
As I had said before, Altschiller will have an uphill battle. The N.H. State Senate currently has a Republican majority that will most likely block this legislation. Not to mention that House and Governor as well. I am hopeful but not expecting much.
Timothy Fitzpatrick can be contacted at
tfitzpatrick@kscequinox.com
