The AP is reporting that SB677 has the Governors support:
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by KATHY MCCORMACK, Associated PressWednesday, January 29th 2020
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire lawmaker submitted a revised bill Tuesday aimed at protecting vulnerable adults from abuse, exploitation and neglect, but opponents expressed concern that it still infringes on the Second Amendment rights of those who are accused.
The Legislature passed a bill last year creating a new type of protective order to allow victims to stop such abuse while a criminal case goes forward. But Republican Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed it over concerns that protections available to domestic violence victims would be reduced.
He said that some victims might apply for the new order instead of the existing domestic violence restraining order, which includes additional protections, such as awarding custody of children.
Sununu supports a bill sponsored this year by Sen. Jeb Bradley, a Republican from Wolfeboro, that clarifies the new protective order isn't intended for people in a relationship who are victims of domestic violence.
Bradley, testifying at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, described the bill as a broader “immediate enforcement mechanism" to come to the aid of someone who, for example, is disabled, neglected, physically abused or financially exploited.
The bill has the support of groups like the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, which had proposed the language last year. A similar version is in the House.
The new bill also removes a provision from the vetoed one that would have allowed police to confiscate guns and other deadly weapons from those accused of abuse, exploitation or neglect. An amendment offered by Bradley includes an acknowledgement from victims that they may be prevented from getting additional safety protections, “including the right to ask the court to order the defendant to hand over their firearms or deadly weapons."
Gun rights representatives said that provision doesn't go far enough to protect the accused and violates the federal and state constitutions.
JR Hoell of the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition said the bill would allow the seizure of someone's personal property [firearms] without a crime being a committed, a criminal investigation, or a trial.
'"I do not see how the amendment solves the issue," he said.
Most people who testified at the hearing supported the bill.
Ryan Donnelly, of Granite State Independent Living, has a disability. He said he values his independence but relies on others for his personal day-to-day care. He was once abused by a caregiver, he said. His case has been resolved, but he wishes that more could have been done earlier.
He said the bill broadens the definition of abuse and will help “to protect those individuals that cannot protect themselves."
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All: We need to double down and stop these bills.
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by KATHY MCCORMACK, Associated PressWednesday, January 29th 2020
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire lawmaker submitted a revised bill Tuesday aimed at protecting vulnerable adults from abuse, exploitation and neglect, but opponents expressed concern that it still infringes on the Second Amendment rights of those who are accused.
The Legislature passed a bill last year creating a new type of protective order to allow victims to stop such abuse while a criminal case goes forward. But Republican Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed it over concerns that protections available to domestic violence victims would be reduced.
He said that some victims might apply for the new order instead of the existing domestic violence restraining order, which includes additional protections, such as awarding custody of children.
Sununu supports a bill sponsored this year by Sen. Jeb Bradley, a Republican from Wolfeboro, that clarifies the new protective order isn't intended for people in a relationship who are victims of domestic violence.
Bradley, testifying at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, described the bill as a broader “immediate enforcement mechanism" to come to the aid of someone who, for example, is disabled, neglected, physically abused or financially exploited.
The bill has the support of groups like the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, which had proposed the language last year. A similar version is in the House.
The new bill also removes a provision from the vetoed one that would have allowed police to confiscate guns and other deadly weapons from those accused of abuse, exploitation or neglect. An amendment offered by Bradley includes an acknowledgement from victims that they may be prevented from getting additional safety protections, “including the right to ask the court to order the defendant to hand over their firearms or deadly weapons."
Gun rights representatives said that provision doesn't go far enough to protect the accused and violates the federal and state constitutions.
JR Hoell of the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition said the bill would allow the seizure of someone's personal property [firearms] without a crime being a committed, a criminal investigation, or a trial.
'"I do not see how the amendment solves the issue," he said.
Most people who testified at the hearing supported the bill.
Ryan Donnelly, of Granite State Independent Living, has a disability. He said he values his independence but relies on others for his personal day-to-day care. He was once abused by a caregiver, he said. His case has been resolved, but he wishes that more could have been done earlier.
He said the bill broadens the definition of abuse and will help “to protect those individuals that cannot protect themselves."
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All: We need to double down and stop these bills.