what,Mass folks never seen open carry before..

Is there any background on this video? I have heard/read many stories of folks in NH having LEO encounter for open carry but it seems odd to me that someone managed to catch this on video and that there is a crowd, an ambulance and someone taking pictures.
 
No shit, Dave! Me too! I was browsing apartments on craig's list in NH today. I'm so sick of boston and MA in general. This place sucks.

I can't even imagine what it must be like to be a citizen and not a tax slave.

If anybody knows of a good apartment in NH, let me know.
 
NH Attorney General Says Open Carry is a RIGHT

by Sam Cohen

On March 21st, when Dave Ridley changed jackets in a supermarket parking lot in Salem, New Hampshire, someone noticed that he was wearing a holstered pistol and called the police. Several Salem police officers confronted Mr. Ridley, and at least one of them inappropriately threatened him with arrest, although he had not brandished the pistol or done anything threatening. After the incident, Ridley called Gun Owners of New Hampshire and we suggested that he contact the Salem Chief of Police, Paul Donovan.

Below are the letters that Ridley wrote to Chief Donovan and Donovan's response. Note in particular that the New Hampshire Attorney General's office told Chief Donovan: "...open carry is regarded as a Right, and though any citizen may call the police if they observe someone carrying a gun openly, that citizen's 'annoyance and alarm' does not override the Right to carry openly."

Gun Owners of New Hampshire compliments both Dave Ridley and Chief Donovan for their courteous and thoughtful handling of this incident, and hopes that this article will be forwarded to other police chiefs in the state.

Editor's note: Dave Ridley's letter follows. Salem Police Chief Donovan's letter is on the next page.



March 22, 2005

Mr. Paul Donovan
Chief of Police
Salem Police Department
9 Veterans Memorial Parkway
Salem, New Hampshire 03079-3388

Dear Chief Donovan:

Sam Cohen from Gun Owners of New Hampshire gave me your name; I don't know if you remember him, but he speaks
very highly of you. I'm the citizen your officers, or at least one of them, threatened with arrest on the 21st after a citizen
noticed I was wearing a lawfully open-carried, holstered pistol in the Market Basket parking lot. I called you the next day,
and your staff suggested I snail mail you.

I understand you have attended a conference or two with GO-NH regarding open carry (thank you) and that you personally
have a good understanding of RSA 159, Amendment 2a, etc. But it seemed that some of your officers didn't. I was not
brandishing the weapon nor using it in a threatening manner. As they relayed it to me, their concern and eventual arrest
threat apparently stemmed from the fact that someone had seen the weapon in its holster while I was swapping jackets
while making a protest sign, that the citizen had felt alarm simply at the sight of a lawfully carried sidearm, and that I
refused to answer some of their questions or let them search my vehicle. I could be missing something here, but my
understanding is your officers would be considered out of bounds for threatening an arrest threat in such circumstances.

I'm generally supportive of police and understand that from their point of view I could have been anyone with any motive.
But as I told your Lieutenant...I open carry from time to time for a logical reason. If we as New Hampshire citizens do not
exercise that right, we will lose it. My being surrounded by 5 officers and threatened with arrest proves the point: Open
carry is a right which has been so underutilized that it almost unrecognized as such by citizens and officers on the street.

On GO-NH's advice I've touched base with Earl Sweeney's office at the state's Department of Safety to let him know
about this and asked him to give both you and me a call. He is apparently out of town, so it may be some days before you
hear from him. This is the third incident I know of where officers in New Hampshire have harassed citizens for lawfully
exercising this legally and Constitutionally protected right. I want us all to be able to work together to ensure this does not
happen again in Salem, that the rights we gun owners hold dear may not be placed at risk.

A lot of folks are urging me to take this further, and though I realize I could, I don't want to if I can avoid it. I
appreciate most of what you do and beyond the calls I have made and my recounting of the incident on some
media outlets, I don't desire to cause you unnecessary headaches.

Feel free to give me a shout at the email below or call me if you like. By the way, though not all of your officers
deserve praise for the way they handled this, officer Morino (Marino?) and your lieutenant (whose name I did not
get) do. They were not by any means easy on me, but they seemed to be professional and dedicated to upholding
the law's constraints on both me and themselves. A tough job. Those two appear to be good at it.

Yours,

Dave Ridley
Keene

More at link...



http://underground.soulawakenings.c...ers+Challenging+Police+in+NH&highlight=ridley
 
It's so bizarre that NH citizens can do that. It makes me want to weep for what MA has become. The sheeple rule here and free people are not welcome at all.
 
It's so bizarre that NH citizens can do that. It makes me want to weep for what MA has become. The sheeple rule here and free people are not welcome at all.

The Chiefs response is a thing of beauty...

...Salem is an urban area on the Massachusetts border, which means we get many people from there who are not familiar with NH firearms laws. They come from a State which is actually quite oppressive in their firearms laws, so it is no wonder that they become alarmed and call the police. In this day and age where people have committed some very violent attacks using firearms, it is understandable that people who do not understand the values of law abiding firearms owners run scared".
 
I've got cold beers in the fridge for any of you that actually do decide to join us up here in the land of the free.

If anybody knows of a good apartment in NH, let me know.

Depends where you want to live ... Rents have been typically high in the Southern part of the state, although there are still deals to be had, particularly if it's a situation where you're renting from a local who just owns a couple of properties. further up north prices on Apts seem a bit lower, my sister was in an apartment (2BR) in Concord for about $600/mo not too long ago ... I've owned my house since 2001 so I'm a little out of touch now.
 
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Yes, you too have an eye for good looking men who radiate power and class. [smile]

ROFL@TYPEO1313... That's what I was thinking as well...

And I like how he said something to the effect of...

We need to let the people of MA know that we don't want them to come up here and cause any crime.
 
That's why I live here. Not just for the "rights", but for the attitudes toward firearms. That being said, I still don't practice my right to open carry, because I don't need to show people that I have a gun. In fact, considering the number of gun-owners in New Hampshire, I've probably only seen one or two carrying openly. Even the guys at my fish and game club don't carry openly in public. For me it's impractical in almost every situation, most of all self-defense. I will admit if a person is a hunter, and going deer hunting or bear hunting, wearing a sidearm on the way into the woods or out of the woods is convenient.
You guys from Mass. won't live long enough to see changes in restrictions in the gun laws, because the problem is in the attitudes toward guns. "Guns kill" has been ingrained into the consciousness of the majority of citizens and there isn't enough gun owners to affect any change. Why do you think Kennedy and Kerry get re-elected? Bail out.
 
That video was taken just a mile from my house. It was in Concord in front of the Petco on Fort Eddy Road (just off of I-93 at Exit 15). I live in New Hampshire, have my CCL, but do not normally carry. Quite frankly, the violent crime rate in New Hampshire is so much lower than Mass, that I don't feel much need (and I know many of you will disagree).

Check out the following crime rates from 2004, comparing the murder, robbery and violent crime rates with the property crime rates. I am not concluding that more firearm freedoms (such as a more liberal CCL laws) are the only reason why that NH and VT have a lower violent crime rate, it may be one of the reasons).

Crime Rate by State, 2004
(rate per 100,000 inhabitants)

State..Violent Crime1.....Murder2.......Rape.......Robbery........Property Crime3
Mass.......458.8.............2.6............28.0........116.4............2,459.7
N.H.........167.0.............1.4............35.3..........38.5............2,040.1
Vt..........112.0..............2.6............24.5..........12.2............2,308.2

1. “Violent crime total” includes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
2. Includes nonnegligent manslaughter.
3. “Property crime total” includes burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Data are not included for the property crime of arson.

From http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004912.html
 
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Is there any background on this video? I have heard/read many stories of folks in NH having LEO encounter for open carry but it seems odd to me that someone managed to catch this on video and that there is a crowd, an ambulance and someone taking pictures.

Interesting observations. I think Ridley was trying to prove a point. I don't know who was running the camera, but it didn't look random to me. Maybe he was hoping to be arrested, although it's hard to say. Clearly he was not breaking the law, but it seems odd that he chose Salem, which would have a much higher percentage of out of state (esp. MA) residents than Keene, where he lives.

As to moving to NH, it wouldn't be a top choice for me especially the southern part. NH is turning more and more blue as more and more Ma**h***s move up there to get away from the high taxes in MA. Then they start to demand the same services that cause the high taxes in MA. NH went for Kerry in 2004, although barely. In 2000 it went for Bush, but not by that wide a margin.

I wouldn't be surprised if open carry is abolished within 10 years up there.

Gary
 
I keep thinking about moving to NH but I am VERY scared that it's going to turn into another MA! Where the hell is left to go in New England after that?

What can be done to stop the flow of leftists from MA into NH? Or at least stop them from turning NH into a clone of MA.

Seriously, if I moved up there and NH's gun laws changed into MA...I'd be seriously bummed out! Ugh!!!!!
 
I keep thinking about moving to NH but I am VERY scared that it's going to turn into another MA! Where the hell is left to go in New England after that?

What can be done to stop the flow of leftists from MA into NH? Or at least stop them from turning NH into a clone of MA.

Seriously, if I moved up there and NH's gun laws changed into MA...I'd be seriously bummed out! Ugh!!!!!

What about Vermont? Aren't their laws even better than NH?
 
Yeah but Vermont has high taxes doesn't it?

Is there anybody from NH who can speak about the politics of that state??? How come it has a democratic governor and it went for Kerry? What is going on in NH????
 
I keep thinking about moving to NH but I am VERY scared that it's going to turn into another MA! Where the hell is left to go in New England after that?

What can be done to stop the flow of leftists from MA into NH? Or at least stop them from turning NH into a clone of MA.

http://www.freestateproject.org/news/media_archive/0034.php

OK... so it bombed, but at least it was a good idea.

Seriously, if I moved up there and NH's gun laws changed into MA...I'd be seriously bummed out! Ugh!!!!!

I think NH is a long way off from that scenario. As far as the near future goes?... I'd be more concerned with gun control laws being passed at the federal level... not much NH (or any free state), can do about that.

There are too few asshats moving up there to have a significant impact... they can make some noise and create headaches, but most of it will fall on deaf ears.

Most of the Liberal ma**h***s are moving up there because of housing costs.

Where I could see some real potential problems is the morons who move next door to a gun club/range and start complaining about noise/safety/environmental issues.
 
Yeah but Vermont has high taxes doesn't it?

Is there anybody from NH who can speak about the politics of that state??? How come it has a democratic governor and it went for Kerry? What is going on in NH????

Higher than Taxachusetts? Wow. I have no idea, I'm not from New England. I'm still learning.
 
I keep thinking about moving to NH but I am VERY scared that it's going to turn into another MA! Where the hell is left to go in New England after that?

What can be done to stop the flow of leftists from MA into NH? Or at least stop them from turning NH into a clone of MA.

Seriously, if I moved up there and NH's gun laws changed into MA...I'd be seriously bummed out! Ugh!!!!!

There is no way New Hampshire is turning into Mass., or ever will. The mind-set is completely different. The right to own firearms is contained in NH's Constitution. The state Reps and Senators are heavily stacked toward gun ownership, and the sheer number of gun owners in NH could easily boot an anti out of office. Usually Mass. liberals that move to NH and want to change things are told, "If they don't like it here, to get the Hell out, and go back to where they came from". Most are so happy to get out of that tax and crime ridden pit, they find living in New Hampshire a refreshing experience. If you're a gunowner, you can't do much worse than living in Mass., or much better than living in New Hampshire. If you're looking for true freedoms and liberties in all areas of life, New Hampshire is the place to live.
 
I bought a house in Ashland N.H and sold it after 10 years. I really miss it and right now I'm looking for another there. I had to sell it because I was never there. Here's some of the reasons I miss it

When I went to the police station to get my CCW permit the chief said come back in 3 days and pick it up..

I could walk out in to my backyard and shoot.

When I registered my new caddy and new GMC 4X4 the insurance for both was $900, I said to the agent is that the down payment?

The local gun club cost me 30 bucks and gave me a key to the padlocked gate.

My home insurance was a 3rd of what I pay in Boston.

You need license plates just go to the town hall.

You can buy a beautiful house for less than $300k

The local Elks, VFW, American Legion and gun club will take you in like a long lost cousin. Every week was a hunting, shooting, fishing party and every one was real nice if you were a normal gun owning American.

The only thing that you have to be carefull about is the real estate tax. The difference between towns is amazing. One town it would cost you $8000 and the exact same house in the next town would cost you $4000..
 
I lived in NH briefly (1990-1994) and enjoyed my one acre lot and oversized ranch on a dead end street in a beautiful town (144K).
And most of my neighbors owned guns and had no insecurities about showing them to others.
I'll never forget the day that a skunk was about to spray my 120 lb. yellow Lab. A neighbor pulled out his revolver and killed the skunk! First couple of shots missed. Now, that was scary. AHHH..the good old days of the Wild West.
 
The Chiefs response is a thing of beauty...

...Salem is an urban area on the Massachusetts border, which means we get many people from there who are not familiar with NH firearms laws. They come from a State which is actually quite oppressive in their firearms laws, so it is no wonder that they become alarmed and call the police. In this day and age where people have committed some very violent attacks using firearms, it is understandable that people who do not understand the values of law abiding firearms owners run scared".

that makes me want to move to his town.
 
Moving to NH felt like coming home, even though I am barely over the border. Everything gun-law-wise just feels "right" when compared to the BS we had in MA for even the most basic stuff. MA is so bad that im still dealing with their absurd laws due to my proximity to their border and having to monitor myself to not become a felon by stepping over the imaginary border into non-highcap land.

10 miles south, my house would easilly be 400K and have a postage stamp for a yard and a police chief who might block my ability to carry. Instead, I have a completely quiet family neighborhood, 3/4 acre on a corner lot, a gun club less than a mile from my door with 24/7 access, and I got my carry permit in 4 days from application to permit in hand.

My only hopes? That more MA people keep coming just over the border, driving housing prices way up. That way, in 10 years i can sell my house for a very hefty profit and move way deeper into the state with a significant upgrade in house and land. Im not worried about MA attitudes infecting the state....in the northern 3/4 of the state, it seems there is a gun in every house...
 
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