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No playing with guns in House

By Staff | Jan 3, 2016

Just when I thought it was not possible to be any more embarrassed by our state government, the New Hampshire House of Representatives has proven me wrong again. The surprise, of course, is caused by House Speaker Shawn Jasper’s announcement to the Secret Service that the House won’t give up its guns. The right of our state representatives to carry a gun without revealing it shall not be abridged.

Personally, I do not think that concealed carry should be allowed in the Statehouse. The Republican majority disagrees: It was only at the start of the last legislative session that this idiotic policy was revived. But leaving that aside, who does the New Hampshire House of Representatives think it is? How do they get to trump a federal agency?

It’s not like the Secret Service is doing anything surprising or outside its jurisdiction. Their mission is to provide protection to members of the government and presidential candidates. What would Speaker Jasper say if President Barack Obama visited? Would he still refuse? (And let me tell you, if I were President Obama, I would be concerned about some of the members of the New Hampshire House having weapons, concealed or otherwise.) Is that still reasonable in Speaker Jasper’s mind?

Exactly why do members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives need to be able to carry concealed weapons? Oh, I know – it’s the sacred Second Amendment again, the only amendment to our Constitution that lots of people appear to care about in this country.

The Bill of Rights is made up of 10 amendments, but I very rarely hear people clamoring about the First Amendment, especially recently. Do you remember your First Amendment from high school civics? Read on:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

But right now, more than one of our presidential candidates – off the top of my head, Mr. Trump, Mr. Carson, and Mr. Cruz – all seem to think that Muslim citizens of this country do not deserve First Amendment rights. Unless, of course, what the founding fathers actually meant by the free exercise of religion is to practice Christianity.

Ah, but that’s the First Amendment. It apparently can be limited with impunity, like say, the Fifteenth Amendment (which guarantees the right to vote), and no one lifts an eyebrow. But let anyone talk about the Second Amendment – the sacred Second Amendment – and people become uncivil very quickly.

This is the Second Amendment, in full, which people very rarely quote:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Let us be very clear: the Second Amendment was all about the preservation of slavery in the southern states. When the founders were drafting the Constitution, besides being concerned about the new government having the power to draft its people into military service, the Second Amendment was ratified to insure that the militias (locally called slave patrols) in the southern states would be preserved. The language of the Second Amendment uses ‘State’ instead of ‘Country’ for that very reason.

So, we have Speaker Jasper reminding us and the Secret Service that our state representatives have a right to carry concealed weapons in the House chamber.

Why stop there? How about churches? How about schools? Playgrounds? Swimming pools? Mensa meetings?

Never mind. No New Hampshire Republican representative would ever be found there.

June Lemen is a freelance writer from Nashua. Email her at june@junelemen.com.

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