By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — Attorney General John Formella wants lawmakers to kill the compromise on House Bill 609 tomorrow, saying it creates too many unintended consequences which could harm rather than help gun owners, and could put public safety at risk.
In a letter sent to all House and Senate members Wednesday morning Formella wrote “As Attorney General, it is my job to protect the Constitutional rights of our citizens and to protect public safety. Put simply, this bill would create a regulatory cliff that raises massive risk for the Second Amendment rights of New Hampshire citizens and legal uncertainty for the public safety operations of State law enforcement agencies.”
The bill is intended to make clear the state has sole control over regulations on firearms and self-defense tools, and restrict limits enacted by towns and state agencies.
The bill asserts the state’s “authority and jurisdiction over the sale, purchase, ownership, use, possession, transportation, licensing, permitting, taxation, or other matter pertaining to firearms, firearms components, ammunition, firearms supplies,stun guns, Tasers, pepper spray devices, knives, or other self-defense tools, and prohibits any state subdivision from passing a statute or ordinance concerning firearms and self-defense tools.
“The agreement allows executive agencies to promulgate rules to bring before the joint legislative committee on administrative rules for approval. However, per the agreement no such rules may be approved unless there is underlying statutory authority for the agency to create a rule that would limit an employee’s ability to possess self-defense weapons,” said Rep. Terry Roy, R-Deerfield who chaired the conference committee on the bill. “There also exists a cause of action for private citizens to bring suit against a municipality for any violations of the primacy of the state legislature regarding any rule or ordinance that would infringe upon a citizen’s right per the US and New Hampshire Constitution. This provides for not only financial penalties but attorney’s fees.”
But Formella said the resulting agreement impacts public safety and gun owners rights.
“I believe that this bill would lead to multiple unintended consequences that have dire implications for public safety and the rights of gun owners in this state,” he wrote. “This is especially so after the changes made in the Committee of Conference.”
One concern for the attorney general is under the bill all state agency rules dealing with restrictions on firearms or self-defense tools for state employees or others would sunset July 1, 2027.
Formella said this would create a surge in rule-making by state agencies and a regulatory cliff that could create massive uncertainty for gun owners.
The bill also makes it more difficult for executive branch agencies to make expedited policy changes to protect gun owners, he said, noting several years ago when the Gun Line run by state law enforcement to approved pistol permits was slow or shut down, a work-around was quickly instituted so those seeking a pistol permit did not have to wait days for an answer.
Formella also said the bill “would create a complex web of legal difficulties and uncertainty for State law enforcement agencies and their efforts to protect public safety.”
He said State Police policies for use and storage of firearms for their employees, and Police Standards and Training Council’s policies on firearms training and the Attorney General’s policies on best practices for firearms would be uncertain.
“To put it bluntly, the legal uncertainty that this bill would create for State law enforcement agencies and officials is untenable,” Formella wrote, “and would create significant risks and challenges to public safety operations.”
He also had concerns about the bill’s segregating Second Amendment Rights for Executive Branch rule-making.
“This bill goes beyond preempting local regulation of firearms, but rather goes so far as to tie the hands of a co-equal branch of State Government on firearms regulation and the protection of Second Amendment rights,” he wrote. “The most prudent path would therefore be to decline to adopt the Committee of Conference Report and to facilitate further discussion and study of the issues that this bill seeks to address.”
The National Rifle Association posted on its Facebook Page a call for New Hampshire residents to urge their Representatives and Senators to approve the conference committee agreement on HB 609.
The Police Chiefs Association of New Hampshire opposes the bill.
The Senate will vote on the agreement first and if it passes, the House will vote on the report Thursday, the last day of the 2026 session except for veto day which is expected to be this fall.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.