NH is the only state Capitol in the Northeast, and one of only eight nationwide, that allows anyone to bring in a gun, whether the firearm is concealed or carried openly. Keeping the state’s gold domed capital, in which the state legislative body still meets, should be a welcoming symbol of New Hampshire’s character. However, we are not protecting the public and our legislators while they are in this building.
New Hampshire has the lowest homicide rate in the nation and ranks second in violent crime according to independent analysis. We would all like to think this will be the way things will continue. But, would we be able to forgive ourselves if we hadn’t done everything we could to protect life in light of the horrendous events in this country?
Rather than tightening security in our capital in 2010, the speaker of the New Hampshire House, a dedicated Second Amendment advocate, with a 3-1 GOP majority in the Legislature, ended a four-decade ban of guns in Representatives Hall — the House chamber. Even though we have metal detectors and a law enforcement presence at the entrance of each of our courthouses, this is not true of many of our buildings in Concord. Over 20+ years under both Republican and Democratic control, the Legislature has flatly rejected deploying metal detectors in the complex. After 9/11, the first House vote on the topic was 300-35 to kill the bill. Do we have our heads in the sand? Do we think we are immune from what is happening in our neighboring states?
Reducing gun protections in the state house has expanded to no restrictions on concealed weapons. Some say, if someone today wants to start getting reckless ,there are 30 or 40 legislators on the floor of the House who are armed. However, many fear this will cause added injury or even death — potentially created by crossfire. Or, in the midst of the chaos, building security will not be able to distinguish an assailant from others armed in the chamber.
When voters give Democrats control of the House, the ban on firearms has been reimposed. But this has now changed back and forth depending upon the party in the majority. Is this the best way to conduct public policy? Is that the best way to prevent gun violence and convey safety for anyone in the building?
In December 2014, the new speaker of the house was stunned to learn that neither the State House or the Legislative Office Building across the street was under 24-hour manned surveillance. It took two years to add surveillance — just in time to catch on camera, Joseph Polito, a 25-year-old Gilmanton man with a history of mental illness who entered the empty State House. The cameras showed Polito sneaking into the basement and leaving a small blood trail while trying to break into the ATM machine. He destroyed two historic portraits and then left without detection. Ultimately, he was found after bragging about his ‘antics’ to someone in Florida who subsequently turned him in. After this break-in, a private company was hired to perform a security risk assessment of the complex. Recommendations included ending public access through the back and side entrances to the State House and Legislative Office Building. Now only legislators and staff with key cards can get in through those entrances. But this doesn't stop someone from coming in the front door and then letting someone into the back.
Let us not be naive. It is not like there have never been any incidents in New Hampshire:
Nov. 2, 1993: John Albro, 37, a disgruntled taxpayer and son of a selectman, walked into the Newbury Town Hall and shot and killed two female employees there. He died that night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Aug. 19, 1997: Carl Drega, a Bow man in the midst of an escalating property dispute over his vacation home in Columbia, killed two state troopers, a judge and a newspaper editor. After wounding four other officers, he was shot to death in a gunfight with police in Bloomfield, Vt.
Oct. 10, 1998: A pipe bomb set off a small fire at the Concord City Library. A second device was found hours later at the state library across the street from the State House. Thankfully no one was injured in these incidents. A federal grand jury was convened in the matter, but no one has ever been charged.
More recently a stalker repeatedly sent threatening emails blaming a statehouse official for an adverse decision. The stalker was known to have a gun but thankfully didn’t follow through on his threats.
Also more recently a woman made threatening phone calls in the middle of the night to a Representative’s home. Police visited her home, warning the next visit would result in criminal charges.
In August of 2024 State Troopers were called to the scene of an active police incident within the State Office Complex on Pleasant Street in Concord. A man barricaded himself in a building at the Hugh Gallen State Office Park. Everyone was asked to avoid the area for hours, even after the situation was contained because the scene remained active. This incident resulted in charges of being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.
Given these examples, are the present policies really best for our State House? I for one think weapons should be banned in the capital and other legislative buildings except in the hands of security and the police. And I don’t believe we can trust the honor system anymore — this would require metal detectors at entrance points.
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