Back in September, GOA sent an alert about LSR 2025-0020.
This legislative service request eventually became HB 56 — which requires background checks for private firearm sales and waiting periods for all firearm purchases in New Hampshire.
As of January 30th, the majority of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee had voted HB 56 was “Inexpedient to Legislate.”
This means that the majority of the Justice and Public Safety Committee has voted and recommended to rest of the legislature that this bill should be killed.
At a later date, HB 56 will appear before the full legislature.
Obviously, GOA agrees with the committee’s majority stance that this bill shouldn’t move any further.
Along with this bill, 2 other anti-gun bills that should ultimately be opposed and struck down. They are:
HB 352 — Prohibits possession of a firearm at a polling place. This bill was also voted as “Inexpedient to Legislate” by the majority of the Justice and Public Safety Committee on 01/30/2025.
HB 506 — Allows for a background check to be conducted on an individual who is entitled to the return of seized firearms and ammunition upon the termination or expiration of a court order. This means someone who has had their firearms and ammunition seized after a restraining order or bail order, for example, could potentially undergo a background check just to receive property that has already been ordered by the court to be returned to them.
The bill does not mandate background checks, but it allows courts to request a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check before returning the firearms. This bill should be OPPOSED despite the majority of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voting “Ought to Pass with Amendment.”
There are also bills within the New Hampshire legislature that GOA would like to see advanced and passed. Last summer the legislature scored some major victories by enacting gun owner privacy bills. Two extremely pressing pro-gun bills that need to be addressed can be seen below:
HB 381 — Exempts firearms and firearm accessories manufactured for “in-state use only” from the National Firearm Act. Meaning items like suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and even fully automatic firearms could be legally possessed and owned without a federal tax stamp as long as they remain within the state of New Hampshire’s borders.
Moving this bill forward would be a MASSIVE victory for New Hampshire gun owners. In Texas, GOA supported similar legislation in the form of a suppressor freedom bill that was passed in 2021.
The second bill in need of support is HB 551 — This bill repeals the local licensing requirement for the sale of pistols and revolvers. It is straightforward in reducing burdensome restrictions and regulations. However, this bill is still waiting for action to be taken in the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.
All bills may be acted upon the day after the committee report appears in the House Calendar. Fill out the form above and encourage your State Legislators to take action on these bills.
This year, all bills are “due out” of committee on 03/20/2025. This gives us ample time to raise support for our positions, as all of these bills will at some point end up in front of the entire legislature for a vote.
So, contact your State Legislators and urge them to SUPPORT the pro-gun bills and to OPPOSE the anti-gun bills. Reach out to your legislators immediately in the form above and urge them to take action on these gun bills.
