By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – While Democrats said there is no need to study it, and prolonging it might lead students to go to other schools, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-2 on Thursday to recommend a campus weapons carry bill to a study committee.
It would not impact the 19 other private institutions of higher learning but focus on the University System of New Hampshire.
House Bill 1793 passed the lower chamber on a vote of 188-165 and at its April 14 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee the online log showed 44 in support of the bill and 1,732 in opposition.
Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, said not a single person who testified ask for a study committee and none of the supporters of the bill were from positions of public safety.
The majority were “supper, super clear…we have this information and the volume shows us what we already know…this is just a bad idea,” Altschiller said.
Sen. Tara Reardon, D-Concord, added that in the emails she has received many parents expressed concern that they might not send their children to a USNH campus if campus carry was in place and prolonging the process with a five-member study committee will only continue to drag down an education system that is “struggling” with enrollment.
The original description of the bill “prohibiting public colleges and universities from regulating the possession or carrying of firearms and non-lethal weapons on campus” included any institution of higher learning which receives state funding. But Republican senators heard concerns raised by Dartmouth and others and amended it so that the study committee will only look to focus on USNH campuses.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Samuel Farrington, R-Rochester, and had no Democrats as co-sponsors. It did have Senators Tim McGough, Keith Murphy, Howard Pearl and Victoria Sullivan as co-sponsors.
On social media, Farrington said he was disappointed but noted “this is not over.” The Senate will likely vote on the recommendation next Thursday.
Currently the state allows UNH, Keene and Plymouth to choose whether or not they allow for campus carry.
The study committee will look at “prohibition on restrictions of non-lethal weapons on College Campuses. As allowable by state and federal law, no public institution of higher education shall enact rules, policies, or similar prohibitions restricting the possession, carry, storage, or lawful use of non-lethal weapons on campus.”
The committee to study if passed would include three members of the House of Representatives, with one member being from the minority party, appointed by the Speaker of the House and two members of the Senate, with one member being from the minority party, appointed by the president of the Senate.
It will look to “investigate the cost to public institutions of higher education, as defined in RSA 159:28, III, if campus carry were to pass.”
It would also look to “study the feasibility of allowing full-time employees of public institutions of higher education, as defined in RSA 159:28, III, to carry weapons, and any potential costs or safety concerns related to allowing employees of public institutions of higher education, as defined in RSA 159:28, III, to carry weapons.”
The committee would study existing policies on different types of weapons at all public institutions of higher education, as defined in RSA 159:28, III, in New Hampshire; study policies in other states regarding weapons on campuses of public institutions of higher education, as defined in RSA 159:28, III; study policies in other states and solicit, or attempt to solicit, testimony from representatives of public institutions of higher education, as defined in RSA 159:28, III, in those states for feedback as to whether their policies have had any impact on campus safety and costs to their public institutions of higher education, as defined in RSA 159:28, III; study the safety concerns of allowing guns on campuses of public institutions of higher education, as defined in RSA 159:28, III, including safety assessments of campuses of public institutions of higher education, as defined in RSA 159:28, III, and potential changes to such assessments, should campus carry be implemented in future years along with determining what reasonable restrictions public institutions of higher education would require should such a policy be implemented.
A report would be due November 1, 2026.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said that she would await the final version of the bill to weigh in but she would be looking at it from a public safety perspective.
All members of law enforcement who testified opposed the bill as written.
A link to the story on the hearing is here https://indepthnh.org/2026/04/14/campus-weapon-carry-bill-gets-a-hot-hearing/