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NH committee recommends HB 17-93 amid heated campus-carry debate
Summary
The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee heard hours of public testimony for and against HB 17-93, a bill that would bar public universities from enforcing campus weapons bans; after extensive questioning of university and police witnesses it moved the bill out of executive session with a narrow committee recommendation.
CONCORD, N.H. — The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee recommended House Bill 17-93 after a daylong hearing in which students, university officials, police chiefs and legislators sharply disagreed about whether public colleges should be allowed to bar firearms on campus.
Representative Farrington introduced the bill as a restoration of rights, saying "Self defense is not a privilege. It is a natural right" and citing U.S. Supreme Court precedents he argued limit campus bans. Supporters, including students and veterans, told the committee that 18- and 19‑year‑olds should not be treated as a separate class of citizens while on public property and that carrying arms is an equal-rights issue.
UNH officials, campus police chiefs and many town leaders urged the committee to leave…
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