Thirteen fatal shootings triggered grief and mourning across New Hampshire last month and caused government officials to reconsider legislation that would ease concealed firearm regulations, according to the Nashua Telegraph.
The victims included a nine-year-old boy in Hollis, N.H.; a police chief in Greenland, N.H.; two murder-suicides; and five men and women who were found in trailers and along the sides of roads, the Telegraph reported.
The wave of gun-related violence coincided with the state Senate's consideration of House Bill 536, which would allow a person to carry a concealed and loaded firearm without a license. On May 2, the Senate voted 17 to 7 to table the bill in the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, according to the New Hampshire General Court website.
State Sen. Matthew Houde, D-Plainfield, who did not support the bill, said that news of the shootings had a significant impact on the deliberations and caused some senators who supported the measure to reconsider the bill's timing.
"I hope that the recent spate in gun violence doesn't become a trend," Houde said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "I hope it's an aberration, but I think it will undoubtedly impact the discussion."
Last year, New Hampshire passed the "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows someone to use deadly force in self-defense without the obligation to retreat. The law, which exists in 23 states, has come under scrutiny since the February shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Florida.
In New Hampshire, "Stand Your Ground" faced opposition from the Department of Safety and the Association of Chiefs of Police, who predicted that it will result in an increase in violent confrontations, according to Houde. Gov. John Lynch, D-N.H., also opposed the bill, but his veto was overridden by the legislature.
The loosened restrictions' effects are yet to be determined, the Nashua Telegraph reported.
The April shootings have halted the Republican-dominated legislature's momentum toward loosening restrictions on gun ownership, licensing and use, according to Houde. Any new gun legislation, however, including bills that might propose more stringent restrictions, are just as unlikely to come up, he said.
As a mostly rural state with a libertarian tradition, New Hampshire has historically emphasized protecting individual freedoms, including gun rights, the Nashua Telegraph reported.
"Even though this particular year may have a statistical anomaly of violent crimes, I believe that the people of New Hampshire value their rights above all else," College Republicans President J.P. Harrington '14 wrote in an email to The Dartmouth.
Gun rights were not written into the state Constitution until 1982, yet New Hampshire has developed a reputation as one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation, according to the Telegraph report.
In a 2011 report released by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the state scored six out of 100 points based on the strength of its gun control laws.
Houde and State Rep. David Pierce, D-Grafton County, have played active roles in fighting the legislature's push toward fewer gun-related restrictions, according to College Democrats President Mason Cole '13.
Houde acknowledged Second Amendment freedoms in defending his opposition to HB 536.
"I recognize the right to bear arms," Houde said. "I'm not challenging that. I'm not questioning that. I support that, but even rights are subject to reasonable limitations."
The leaders of student political groups disagreed about the impact of gun control legislation on public safety in the state.
"While the recent rash of crime is deplorable, frightening and tragic, it is not a reason to push for gun control," Harrington said. "Gun control is not a cure-all for violent crime."
Cole said he believes that the Republican legislative effort was alarming.
"By taking away some of the barriers for registering or not stating in law the need to obtain a license, that makes New Hampshire a more dangerous place," Cole said.
College Libertarians President Arenne Clark '14, however, said that the right to bear arms actually increases public safety.
"I truly believe that the majority of violence stems from criminals who illegally possess weapons rather than the average American citizen who legally decides to arm [himself] in order to protect [his] home and family," Clark said in an email to The Dartmouth. "I think disarming an American citizen would lead to more violence."
The Rockefeller Center's 2012 State of the State poll provides insight to the attitudes of New Hampshire voters toward gun control, specifically on college campuses and state properties.
Out of 403 survey participants, the poll determined that 66.2 percent of voters opposed allowing guns in these areas, 17.7 percent supported the measure and 16.2 percent were unsure, according to government professor Ronald Shaiko, who is the associate director of the Rockefeller Center and directed the survey.
State Sen. John Gallus, R-Berlin, who supported the bill and opposed its tabling, and State Sen. Jim Forsythe, R-Strafford, who supported the bill but approved of its tabling, did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
