Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Firearms Regulation Dealers topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dealer tells committee federal law makes New Hampshire handgun‑seller license redundant
Summary
A federally licensed firearms dealer told the Senate Judiciary Committee House Bill 551 would remove a 1923 state licensing requirement that the witness said federal law and modern licensing already duplicate; he also warned that statutory language allowing nonresident handgun permits conflicts with federal law.
A federally licensed firearms dealer told the Senate Judiciary Committee that state licensure of handgun sellers, enacted in 1923, is redundant because federal licensing and regulation already require local notification.
“I want to state upfront I will benefit if this bill is enacted,” said Jay Simkin, a federally licensed firearms dealer testifying in support of House Bill 551. Simkin said the state license costs him $10 every three years and imposes administrative steps he believes duplicate federal requirements.
Simkin told senators the federal Gun Control Act of 1968 and subsequent federal licensing and recordkeeping rules have long required transfer records and have the effect of notifying local authorities when a licensed dealer applies for or renews a federal firearms license. He said that overlap means the 1923 state law can be repealed without leaving a regulatory gap. “In short, federal law and regulation make 1 59 colon 8 redundant, and it can therefore go away,” Simkin said in his testimony.
He also flagged language in the state statute that appears to permit issuance of a New Hampshire permit for a nonresident to acquire a handgun in New Hampshire. Simkin said that language conflicts with federal law and practice, which require transfers to be processed through a federally licensed dealer in the buyer’s state of residence. “If someone from, say, Ohio wants to buy a firearm from me… I may not lawfully deliver that firearm to them. I have to ship it to a federal firearms licensee in the state of Ohio who will transfer it to that buyer,” he told the committee.
Why it matters: supporters said repealing the old license would remove duplication and paperwork for in‑state dealers without weakening federal controls. The witness said the repeal should be followed by cleanup of statutory language that conflicts with federal transfer rules.
No action or committee vote was recorded in the transcript. The committee acknowledged the testimony and indicated it may request clarifying amendments to align state law with federal transfer rules.
