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
---------------------
[NOTE:? Salem PD letterhead graphic goes here]
---------------------
March 28, 2005
Mr. David Ridley
[Address edited out]
Dear Mr. Ridley:
I have received and reviewed your letter of March 22, 2005 regarding your contact with some of our officers on March 21,
2005. My Administrative Assistant told me that you called and that she recommended sending a letter. I am glad that Sam
recommended that you write to me concerning this matter. Sam is a great guy, and he and I share similar views on
firearms.
Unfortunately, in New Hampshire the State hasn?t done a great job making RSA?s concerning firearms carry clear and
specific. Even with that said, we have a better environment for firearms ?Rights? than many other States. However, those
?Rights? are still not clearly articulated, as there is a lot of room for speculation, opinion, and personal interpretation when
reading the RSA?s. In an effort to clarify this issue, one of my staff members contacted the NH A.G.?s Office concerning
open carry. The answer we received was 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. We are obligated to investigate the complaining citizen?s complaint, but once it is determined that there is no
substance to the complaint, the citizen openly carrying must be allowed to carry on with his/her business. Private property
brings other issues, as the owner may set the rules as to whether he/she will allow open carry on his/her premises. Also,
open carry does not include carrying a firearm in a motor vehicle. As you can see, it is more complicated than we all would
like. We are going over this information and are preparing roll call training for our officers to make this complicated issue
a bit clearer for them.
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. We need to work at improving our image with those who don?t understand. For my part, I will work with my staff to
correct any misconceptions that my officers have regarding open carry. This doesn?t mean that they won?t challenge
someone openly carrying a firearm if a complaint is called in to the station, but hopefully they will have an open mind
when dealing with the call. This should make the interaction better for all parties involved.
My department is very similar to the rest of society. I have officers who know the bare minimum about firearms and others
who are firearms enthusiasts. We have recently contracted with the Pelham Fish and Game Club to use the range for
qualifications, and are interested in working with them to become an asset to the club. It is in both our best interests to
make the partnership work. It is my hope that as more officers go shooting at the club and meet some of the members,
they may find that it is a great sport and it is also a good way to meet some very fine people. This would benefit both the
club and the police department.
Thanks again for writing to me. It is my intention that my officers become more aware of the firearms carry laws and how
to best handle calls from citizens regarding matters such as open carry. The session with GONH last year was very helpful
in that it allowed us to share ideas and to actually meet each other. I think we found that we had more in common than
either group knew. Sam, Stretch, and I talked about shooting, guns and Colt Firearms for an hour after the meeting ended.
Maybe I?ll see you the next time we all get together.
Sincerely,
---------------------
[NOTE: Chief Donovan's signature graphic goes here]
---------------------
Paul T. Donovan
Chief of Police
PTD/ptd
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
![[rolleyes]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/042.gif "Roll Eyes [rolleyes]")
