HB159

Dear Members of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, I am deeply concerned about HB159, which seems to be a reintroduction of last year’s HB1711. This bill infringes on our Second Amendment rights by allowing firearm confiscation based on mental health proceedings without proper due process. It stigmatizes individuals seeking mental health support and sets a dangerous precedent for gun control.

Property should not be seized for any reason without proper due process protections. Please vote no on HB159.

My testimony was turned in to the committee

The amendment does nothing to make the original bill better, just changes the language

Subject: Oppose HB159 - A Repeat of HB1711 Dear Members of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, I am deeply concerned about HB159, which seems to be a reintroduction of last year's HB1711. This bill infringes on our Second Amendment rights by allowing firearm confiscation based on mental health proceedings without proper due process. It stigmatizes individuals seeking mental health support and sets a dangerous precedent for gun control. As members of the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, NH's Only No-Compromise Gun Rights Organization, we stand firm on protecting our constitutional rights without compromise. Please vote NO on HB159 to protect the rights of New Hampshire citizens. This bill could: Deter law-abiding citizens from seeking mental health treatment due to fear of losing their rights. Lead to the disarmament of individuals based on temporary or misjudged mental health evaluations without thorough due process. Establish a precedent for broader gun control measures under the guise of public safety. Sincerely, Robert Wm. Henderson

To the Members of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, I am writing in opposition to HB159. As with the similar (same) HB1711 last year, this bill infringes on the public’s Second Amendment rights by allowing firearm confiscation based on mental health proceedings without proper due process. New Hampshire has a large population of legal firearm owners, and yet a very low gun crime rate. Although I’m sure HB 159 was well intended, it would actually stigmatize individuals seeking mental health support and sets a dangerous precedent for gun control This bill could: • Deter law-abiding citizens from seeking mental health treatment due to fear of losing their rights. • Lead to the disarmament of individuals based on temporary or misjudged mental health evaluations without thorough due process. • Establish a precedent for broader gun control measures under the guise of public safety. I ask you to please vote NO on HB159 to protect the rights of New Hampshire citizens. Thank you for your time and consideration, Dan Keleher

To The Honorable Committee Members of House Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Please vote ITL on HB159. The bill is a wide sweeping form of soft gun control. It violates one's privacy and Constitutional rights while unnecessarily broadening the reach of State Government. Additionally, this will also prohibit someone, who may benefit by receiving counselling, from seeking treatment for fear of gun confiscation. Sincerely and Respectfully, Rep. Marie Louise Bjelobrk Grafton 5 - Benton, Haverhill, Landaff, Piermont and Warren

PLEASE kill this bill. This bill not only threatens our Second Amendment rights but does so in a manner that bypasses due process and privacy. Results of passing this bill would result in punishing one without due process, being adjudicated and found guilty of any crime. It eliminates due process. This bill interferes with patient privacy and the doctor patient relationship. NO gun owner who's aware of this type of legislation would ever seek help from a mental health professional knowing it puts them at high risk of unjustly losing the Second Amendment rights and enduring a legal nightmare without ever having committed a crime. This is a dangerous threat to our freedoms and guarantees an open door to more gun control. Currently in America 24% of women, 11% of men take anti-depressant / anti-anxiety medications. An estimated 41% of Americans suffer untreated depression/anxiety symptoms. If this bill passes potentially 41% of NH residents would be subject to losing their Second Amendment rights without due process. Clearly, this 41% are not out committing firearms related crimes. This would be tantamount to taking driver's licenses away from anyone discovered purchasing an alcohol product in fear they may commit a drunk driving crime. Please Kill this bill. With all due respect, Dr. Walter Moore

Mental health requires maintenance just as physical and oral health and taking care of your health should not remove ones second amendment rights, especially when studies show that your logic is not substantiated by science. "Studies consistently indicate that, even among mass murders and shootings, mental illness is a factor in a minority of these events (Duwe 2004, Fox & DeLateur 2014, Stone 2015, Taylor 2016, Vossekuil et al. 2002)", it is estimated that only about 4% of criminal violence can reasonably be attributed to mentally ill individuals (Metzl & MacLeish 2015, Swanson 1996). Furthermore, "Because an overwhelming percentage of people with mental illness are not violent, and because the occurrence of serious mental illness is relatively low, this means that even if all of the association between mental illness and violence could somehow be eliminated, we would still have to confront 96% of the violence in the United States (Swanson 2008, 2015)." (Rozel & Mulvey, 2017). This lack of association is even clear in the context of NH, which according to NAMI New Hampshire (2021), 221,000 adults in New Hampshire have a mental health condition (19% of the total NH adult population). 25% of those with a condition (57,000) have a Serious Mental Illness (5% of all NH adults), and 25% of those with SMI (14,250) have been arrested at least once in their lifetimes, which represents 6% of adults with a mental health condition, and only 1% of the total NH adult population. This bill would pillage the privacy of the many to target a few while increasing stigma surrounding mental health treatment. Please oppose this government overreach and actually look at studies and statistics instead of the media. Thank you, Alyx References: NAMI New Hampshire. (2021). Mental health in New Hampshire. https://www.nami.org/NAMI/media/NAMI-Media/StateFactSheets/NewHampshireStateFactSheet.pdf Rozel, J. S., & Mulvey, E. P. (2017). The link between Mental illness and firearm violence: Implications for social policy and clinical practice. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 13(1), 445–469. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093459

This bill was defeated last year as it should have and reintroduced under HB159. This bill threatens to allow the government to seize firearms based on mental health proceedings, setting a dangerous precedent without proper due process. This may cause law abiding gun owners not to seek any type of mental health care when faced with temporary life challenges. Oppose this bill.

I oppose HB 159 as an infringement on my rights. A false accusation could seriously affect my rights with no means of defense. I believe in the premiss innocent until proven guilty.

This is just a resubmission of last years HB1711. It was voted down then, and is should be voted down now.

I am concerned that adopting HB159 would force individuals, on the fence about seeking treatment from a medical professional, to consider forgoing such treatment due to a fear of losing their second amendment rights and further deteriorate.

without due process this a threat to Indvidual's freedom

Don’t create standardized responses for individual, unique situations. Centralizing decision-making to a system that does not provide due consideration will unnecessarily limit the rights of many. This bill does not allow for enough due consideration of Individual circumstances. Please do not pass this bill.