Executive Director Zandra Rice Hawkins of Granite State Progress emailed all the NH State Representatives explaining why they should vote in favor of HB1589. ( VERY LONG) granitegrok/blog/2014/02/granite-state-progress-speaks-lies-on-hb1589 Dear Legislators, My name is Zandra Rice Hawkins and I am the executive director of Granite State Progress. I write today to encourage you to support HB 1589, a bill that will require criminal background checks for all commercially advertised firearm sales in New Hampshire. Since there has been a lot of email traffic on this bill, our organization has put together the following information to help elected officials better understand the ins and outs of the legislation being voted on this week. My contact information follows for any further questions and we encourage you to reach out if we can help clarify any section of the bill or background. How Background Checks Work Under the federal Brady Act, criminal background checks must be conducted on individuals before a firearm may be purchased from a federally licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer – sometimes referred to as FFL’s. In New Hampshire, background checks on handgun purchases are conducted by the NH Department of Safety and background checks on long guns are conducted through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). How Background Checks Save Lives Since the inception of the Brady Act thru 2010, over 118 million applications for firearm transfers or permits were subject to background checks. During this time period, about 2.1 million applications, or 1.8%, were denied. A Department of Justice study of applications from 1999 to 2010 found that: · A felony conviction or indictment was the most common reason to deny an application during FBI (63%) and state (50.7%) background checks. · Domestic abusers attempting to purchase guns accounted for the second most common reason of denials during FBI (15.5%) and state (13.2%) background checks. These numbers undercut the theory by some that criminals don’t do background checks – the data clearly shows that background checks have helped keep guns out of the hands of felons, domestic abusers, and other prohibited persons. Why We Need HB 1589 In 2013, New Hampshire conducted nearly 150,000 background checks to keep guns out of the hands of felons, domestic abusers, and other prohibited persons. But commercially advertised guns sold in New Hampshire through private sales at gun shows, online, or the classifieds do not currently require a background check. Requiring a background check every time a gun is sold is effective in keeping guns out of the hands of those with a criminal record. HB 1589 will require a background check for all commercially advertised sales. This just makes sense: responsible gun owners shouldnt put guns in the hands of people they dont know. • Under HB 1589, commercially advertised gun sales – including online sales – would require a criminal background check through a federally licensed dealer using the same background check system already used in all dealer sales. • The bill defines commercial as “a sale, transfer, or exchange of a firearm that takes place at, or on the curtilage of, a gun show or pursuant to an offer to sell or buy a firearm that took place at a gun show, or pursuant to an advertisement, posting, listing, or display.” • Transfers and exchanges are included because it is not uncommon for a firearm to be traded rather than sold for financial value. • The bill defines that sales on the ‘curtilage of’ gun shows or ads are included. This deters parties from meeting at a gun show then going to the parking lot to sell a gun without running a background check. • This bill would help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals and save lives. An overwhelming 89% of Granite Staters support background checks – including a majority of gun owners and NRA members. A polling memo from the past year with breakdown by party affiliation, when available, is attached. Please note the consistency demonstrated across these credible polling groups and the dissatisfaction with politicians who vote against background checks – your constituents want this common-sense policy implemented. What HB 1589 Won’t Do: • It does not affect law-abiding New Hampshire gun owners selling and trading guns between friends & family. • It expressly prohibits a gun registry. • It does not in any way tread on Second Amendment rights – (and frankly, this claim is tired. Background checks have been vetted and upheld thru the courts. They are clearly legitimate.) Please keep in mind that some of your constituents may have not seen the amended version of the bill, and so may be writing in response to the previous version – we have attached the amendment so you can easily share it as needed. Additionally, even with the original version of the bill, the NRA lobby sent out a misleading email that inappropriately characterized when a background check would be needed; many of your NRA member constituents may be confused on these points. The Portsmouth Herald story “NRA misleads N.H. members on legislation” can explain this quicker than any words here – but keep in mind, the bill has since been amended anyway: Portsmouth Herald, NRA misleads N.H. members on legislation, January 2014, m.seacoastonline/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20140128/NEWS/140129679&template=wapart In Response to Recent Rhetoric on “Commercial Sales” In response to some of the banter that has been thrown about, it’s important for legislators to know that New Hampshire law right now does not have any requirements regarding how private citizens sell pistols and revolvers, so long as the sales are not done with such frequency or regularity as to constitute a business – a “commercial sale”. [State v. Timothy Geddes, 2004] The catch here is the difference between commercial sales – conducted by gun dealers who regularly sell guns and are required to conduct background checks – and commercially advertised sales (see previous definition), which are sold by private sellers to people they do not know without background checks. The latter is the focus of HB 1589; commercially advertised sales by definition mean selling a gun to someone you don’t know – most would agree that it is reasonable that a background check should always be required in this situation. If you’re curious for one example of what a commercially advertised gun sale in New Hampshire looks like, visit armslist/classifieds/new-hampshire. You can scroll the several pages of guns for sale in New Hampshire that are sold or traded without a criminal background check. Under HB 1589, instead of a seller and buyer meeting up in a parking lot to make the trade, they would instead meet at the store of a federally licensed dealer who would conduct a criminal background using the same background check system already used in all dealer sales. This process will help keep guns out of the hands of felons, domestic abusers, and other prohibited persons – and will save lives. About NH Gun Shows … You may have seen the line: “We have laws in place and federal laws where dealers are required to do background checks at gun shows.” Yes, that’s true but it’s also misleading. Gun dealers, regardless of where they are, must conduct background checks. But there is no state law restricting private sellers from selling guns to strangers at gun shows in New Hampshire, or requiring them to do background checks before they do so. This is the “gun show loophole” - when gun dealers who must conduct background checks have a table next to private sellers who don’t. The private sellers don’t have to because they are theoretically not selling guns with such frequency or regularity as to constitute a business (see above) and thus do not have to be licensed or conduct background checks. (Of note: all four guns used in the Columbine massacre were purchased by private sellers at gun shows.) Gun show loopholes are a huge problem because they provide an open venue for bad actors to cherry-pick the table they make a purchase from, so as to avoid background checks. This is less of an issue in New Hampshire right now because there is a voluntary effort to only have licensed dealer tables at gun shows – and that is a good thing. However, gun shows still attract private sellers who can hawk guns out of car trunks which is why the ‘on the curtilage of’ language in the bill is important. In any case, HB 1589 would cement in law that all vendors and sales at New Hampshire gun shows must require a criminal background check, in addition to requiring a background check for any online or other commercially advertised form of sale in New Hampshire. The Two Sides of the Debate We respect and understand that every legislator must review the information and make a decision for themselves about what vote best represents the wishes of their constituents and the public safety needs in New Hampshire. In weighing this decision, however, we’d politely encourage you to consider who is debating the merits of HB 1589 and who is ideologically opposed to gun violence prevention efforts: · Rep. JR Hoell told the Portsmouth Herald that he does not believe in any form of criminal background check, even the ones currently on the books that have blocked 2 million sales to felons, domestic abusers, and other prohibited persons [Portsmouth Herald, January 2014] · Gun Owners of America executive director Larry Pratt also said his organization believes all background checks should be “abolished” [Christian Science Monitor, April 2010] · Richard Olson, a local game & fish club officer, actually claimed that background checks cause an increase in rape. [Granite Grok, March 2013: “Delays are undoubtedly just an inconvenience for most people buying guns. But for a few, it makes a huge difference in their ability to defend themselves against assailants. Indeed, my own research suggests these delays might actually contribute to a slight net increase in violent crime, particularly rapes.”] · Rep. Emily Sandblade is against requiring a criminal background check to keep felons, domestic abusers, and other prohibited buyers from easily obtaining a gun, but she is sponsoring HB 1328 to require health care navigators to undergo criminal background checks – and additionally, to be fingerprinted. [“Applicants for a health insurance exchange navigator’s license shall submit directly to the department of safety a notarized criminal history records release form, as provided by the New Hampshire division of state police, which authorizes the release of the person’s criminal records, if any, to the department. The person shall submit with the release form a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency or an authorized employee of the department of safety.”] · None of these individuals are opposed to HB 1589 because it’s ‘not the right answer for New Hampshire’. They are opposed to criminal background checks for firearm purchases, period. In contrast, 89% of Granite Staters do support background checks – the polling numbers cut across party lines as well as gun ownership. The majority of responsible gun owners understand the danger in selling a gun to someone you don’t know, and recognize that background checks are a small delay for potentially life-saving results. You can be both pro-2nd Amendment and pro-reasonable public safety measures. One Last Note In addition to all of the facts and information above, I would like to take a small moment to share with you how I personally became aware of background checks and gun violence prevention, because I think it is a common story for those in my generation and younger for whom gun violence has become an increasingly common and scary part of life in America. In 1999, I was a high school senior, getting ready for tennis districts and the prom, and eagerly awaiting college acceptance letters. That same spring, my peers at Columbine High School were experiencing a very different senior year. On April 20, 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered the school with four guns – all commercially advertised guns sold without background checks. In less than an hour, they had murdered 13 people, injured 24 others, and committed suicide. What most people don’t know about Columbine is that it wasn’t originally supposed to be a school shooting; the shooters had actually planned a large-scale bombing and only intended to use the guns to pick off survivors as they fled the building. After the bombs didn’t go off, the shooters decided to enter the building because they had the guns to do so – can you imagine what the outcome might have been had they not had that option? The woman who purchased three of the guns for the shooters said later that she would not have done it if she had been required to undergo a background check. Fifteen years have passed this spring since the Columbine massacre. But despite the call for action after Columbine, despite the renewed call for public safety after Virginia Tech, Aurora, Newtown, the hundreds of daily shootings and on and on and on … despite this, action has not often followed those calls. New Hampshire’s HB 1589 won’t solve every problem. And it’s no secret that our organization would prefer that these changes be made at the federal level instead. But in the absence of that – and in the face of continued public safety tragedies, both large and small – New Hampshire has a good bill before it that is reasonable and which will save lives if implemented. Questions? Hopefully this information has helped provide a clearer picture of the legislation before you. Our organization sincerely requests your support for HB 1589 on Wednesday and so we gladly offer our contact information to discuss the bill at any point this weekend or over the next few days.You can let us know where you are on this bill or submit questions by using this online survey form: act.granitestateprogress.org/survey/hb1589electedofficial/. We will work to answer inquiries as quickly as possible. Thank you – and we look forward to your support on Wednesday. -- Zandra Rice Hawkins Executive Director Granite State Progress Office: (603) 225.2471 [email protected]
Posted on: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 04:37:18 +0000
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