To: The New Hampshire State House
Repeal NH “Stand Your Ground” Law (HB135)
HB135 will make our communities safer by rolling back dangerous and unnecessary changes to a New Hampshire law that justifies the use of deadly force in self-defense. I support this bill, and urge the New Hampshire legislature to pass HB135 without delay.
Why is this important?
In 2011, Tea Party extremists in the New Hampshire legislature pushed through a so-called “Stand Your Ground” law that gives broad protection for the use of deadly force in public areas. The new law justifies the use of lethal force in self-defense anywhere an individual has a “legal right to be” - that means YOUR town and YOUR neighborhood - without a duty to retreat from harm, even when it is completely safe to do so.
New Hampshire’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” law does not make our families and communities safer. The latest studies find that similar laws in other states do not deter crime and increase the number of murders and wrongful deaths resulting from lethal force encounters. These laws are also used as a legal loophole for violent criminals to plead self-defense.
A law giving private citizens the right to “shoot first and ask questions later” is a tragedy waiting to happen, and it's wrong for New Hampshire. Please sign my petition to support HB135, legislation that will repeal New Hampshire’s unsafe “Stand Your Ground” law.