Taken from the Gun Law posting in the old NEHTF.
New Hampshire: (thanks to PreemptiveStrike for the detailed data!)
NH RSA's in their entirety can be found here:






http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/RSA/html/indexes/default.html







A number of gun laws can be found under Title XII: Public safety and
welfare(especially chapter 159 pistols and revolvers-see below):






http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-XII.htm







ETA 1/13/10:






Pistol/revolver laws are found under chapter 159






http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-XII-159.htm







Fish & Game laws under Title XVIII






http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-XVIII.htm







-(159:19 Courthouse Security) Under NH law the only place you cannot carry(open or concealed) is a courthouse






-(159:4 Carrying Without License) You cannot carry a pistol/revolver
concealed, unless the weapon is unloaded. Contrary to what the NH State
Police website says you CAN have ammunition on you while carrying a
concealed, unloaded firearm.






-(159:6 License to Carry) Shall Issue. Good for not less than 4 yrs. $10
res/$100 non-res. Hunting, target shooting, or self-defense shall be
considered a proper purpose. Issued/denied within 14 days. No photograph
or fingerprint shall be required






-(159:14 Exemption) This states that you can sell a pistol to a person holding a valid NH pistol license or somebody you know.






-(159:6-d Full Faith and Credit for Licenses From Other States;
Reciprocity) NH honors out of state permits for CCW if that state honor
NH permits. AT THIS TIME(1/2010) includes, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona(Must
be over 21), Arkansas(LEO's ONLY), Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,
Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah,
Wyoming. THIS IS ACCORDING TO THE NHSP website. Call to make sure:
Permits and Licensing Unit: (603) 271-3575






-NH has no Magazine capacity or "assault weapon" restrictions.






-Suppressors and SBR's are legal W/ fed tax stamp. Cannot use a suppressor for hunting(207:4 Silencing Devices)






-You can carry in a restaurant(please don't be stupid)






-Armor piercing, API, and tracer rounds are legal but most private ranges do not allow them.
General F&G laws:






-(207:3 Lawful Methods of Taking) You can hunt with any size(capacity)
magazine in a semi automatic rifle but it can only contain no more than 5
rounds for a total of 6rds in the weapon. .22LR is exempt from this.






-(207:7 Hunting From Motor Vehicle, OHRV, Snowmobile, Boat, or Aircraft)
I. No person shall take or attempt to take wild birds or wild animals
from a motor vehicle, OHRV, snowmobile as defined in RSA 215-C:1, boat,
aircraft or other craft propelled by mechanical power. II. No person
shall have or carry, in or on a motor vehicle, OHRV, snowmobile, or
aircraft, whether moving or stationary, a cocked crossbow, a loaded
rifle or loaded shotgun, or a rifle or shotgun with a cartridge in a
magazine or clip attached to the gun. III. No person shall have in or on
a boat or other craft while being propelled by mechanical power, or in a
boat or other craft being towed by a boat or other craft propelled by
mechanical power, a cocked crossbow, a loaded rifle or loaded shotgun,
or a rifle or shotgun with a cartridge in a magazine or clip attached to
the gun.






-( 207:3) You cannot shoot within 300ft of any permanently occupied building without permission of the owner.






- Hunter orange is not required
ETA 07/17/13








ETA #2 07/17/13



NH attorney Generals office/DOJ website
This is a GREAT read covering laws for stops/detentions/interactions between LE and the public
It's from 2008 when Kelly Ayotte was the AG but it's still listed on
the website. If you have a question about a specific law covered in this
publication you should look it up in the RSA's.
 

 

NH Permits and Licensing Unit - Contact information for non-resident permits, current reciprocity agreements, etc.
Resident Pistol/Revolver License
Non-resident Pistol/Revolver License


CCW Application Process Overview

• You will need to fill out the appropriate application (listed above), and submit it to the licensing authority. This will likely be your chief of police if you are a resident. If you are a non-resident then you will submit the application to the state police.


• The application is only one page long, does not require fingerprints, or photographs. You will need to give your name, address, present and past employers, answer a few questions regarding the elgeilibility to possess a firearm and submit three personal references who may or may not be contacted.


• The fee is $10 for residents and $100 for non-residents.

Note: There is no permit required to use or possess a handgun in New Hampshire. The "Pistol/Revolver" license is used when concealing a loaded handgun on your person or in a vehicle.

According to this, armor piercing, Teflon coated, and explosive ammunition is illegal to shoot.  Says nothing about owning it though.

... in the course of committing any misdemeanor or felony.

That's why I'm not a lawyer!  

NH attorney Generals office/DOJ website

This is a GREAT read covering laws for stops/detentions/interactions between LE and the public It's from 2008 when Kelly Ayotte was the AG but it's still listed on the website. If you have a question about a specific law covered in this publication you should look it up in the RSA's.

neilfj, can you add these to your intitial post above please?

Done!  Thanks.



 

Great post, I was looking for exactly this!  Thanks.

One thing to consider when looking at some websites (even "official" ones) is that there may be incorrect information on them, so double check any legal question by looking at the RSA's as well.

I know of 1 instance with the NHSP website where they're giving out false information and haven't corrected it. From their FAQ page:
" - You may carry unloaded and concealed on your person, so long as you do not possess any ammunition on your person."

NOWHERE in the NH RSA's does it say this. This is their OPINION and not what the law states. I contacted them about this misinformation and was told they'd change it. That was about 5 years ago

You could in fact have as many rounds/magazines as you want on you SO LONG AS THE WEAPON IS UNLOADED.

I've seen that misinformation repeated on sites like  handgunlaws.us unfortunately.

Do you know if there is any case law where a judge arbitrarily determined what the word "with" actually means? When I read the law it says something among the words of "...a pistol with a loaded magazine..." I remember hearing a cop say that it couldn't be within reach or something like that (where did he get that information?). So perhaps you cannot have a loaded magazine on you?

This is from NRA-ILA :

https://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2013/8/new-hampshire-supreme-court-makes-important-pro-gun-decision.aspx?s=&st=10493&ps=

Seems the NH Supreme Court has this matter cleared up!

Does anyone know of any restrictions in carrying a concealed handgun in schools/school property with a CCW permit?  I haven't found any but wanted to confirm.

I did a big search on this previously.  Here is an example:  http://www.defensivecarry.com/forum/concealed-carry-issues-discussions/43080-nh-carry-schools.html

Add Maine to the reciprocity list in the OP.




My understanding is that a NH PRL does NOT satisfy the requirements in the federal gun free school zone act to be an exemption.



There is no such requirement in the RSAs.

Do you know what part of it is lacking?  My assumption is they do a background check but maybe that's not enough?

The problem is that the background check is not required by law. The fact that they did run one is irrelevant. It sucks but the only way to fix it in NH is add to the requirements for a PRL. That's a can of worms we probably shouldn't open.

I'm not a lawyer and I'd like to be proven wrong, but the law seems pretty clear.

I was elected to my town's budget committee and there is a lawyer on the committee with me.  I'm going to ask him about this again.  We were in the middle of the tax season and he didn't have time to look into it.  It doesn't say anything about a background check and it is the political subdivision (town) that is verifying that I am qualified to receive the license.  I will dig into this some more and maybe start a thread.  Everything I've read in my internet search comes to the conclusion that we can carry with a CCW permit.  However, teachers themselves may have it in their contract that they cannot carry a pistol.

Here is Sam Cohen's opinion. Halfway down page 6 he talks about where you cannot carry in NH with a license.

http://nebula.wsimg.com/abd34715203e6c8269c6b853234641df?AccessKeyId=27CF2874A2D4F25F072A&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

Hmm.  From that we know that there is no state law that prohibits it.  So it basically falls to federal law.  The ATF director from 2006 says NH's CCW permit "would generally qualify as an exception".  While I don't want to be the test case, it seems silly to, say, drop kids off at school, then go home and get your pistol.  

It seems like it boils down to how the law and NH's CCW permit system is interpreted.  I hate doing things to CYA if it's not necessary.  

What's amusing is local LEO would do absolutely nothing to enforce federal immigration laws but would arrest you for carrying concealed on school property?  I currently certify medical marijuana card applications for my patients that have a qualifying condition.  None of those patients can be charged with marijuana possession as it's legal at the state level, but it is still a Schedule I drug at the federal level so local LEO can still arrest and prosecute?  Even if the NH CCW permit did not meet standards for certain (which I'm not convinced it does), local LEO would have to charge you for a federal crime.  Can they simply pick and choose what federal laws they are going to enforce?

Thanks for the write-up to you and other responses.

For the part in blue, is that still only a federal violation or is there a state RSA that also deals with it.  To me it seems that we keep repeating it as though it is a NH law.  I realize it doesn't change the fact that it is illegal, I'm just wondering how a local LEO would approach it.  Call the Feds?  


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I agree that it's best not to make the CCW permit law more restrictive even though it would have the benefit to carry in schools.  Not a good thing to mess with that.

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So if someone is carrying while they go to vote at the school and a local LEO notices it they cannot arrest you for violating the federal GFSZ act? What can they do, call and ask for authorization? Just tell you to leave? I never knew this. Not that I'm planning to carry onto school grounds. I'm just curious.

They can't just get authorization and be made into some sort of federal agent, so I'm pretty sure that would mean in NH that local police couldn't do much. In MA it's a felony to carry on any school property including colleges.



 

Having lived in a School zone I checked in on this with local PD and a local friend whom has his FFA and deals to his local friends.  He also lives in the school zone as we were neighbors.

I was always told In NH it is against the law to conceal carry and or just carry a weapon in a school zone. However while living in and driving around and thru school zones especially in some towns and cities in NH it is near impossible to NOT go thru one while traversing say Manchester, Nashua, Concord.. etc..So it was an understanding by the local and state police if someone carrying concealed thru a school zone was pulled over they would not be charged nor harassed for the infraction.

But thats just my own personal research from local talent when I lived in Concord. As I was a little nervous about leaving my own property being within 1000 feet of the school property, However I felt much more comfortable after hearing that.

I just would not want to test it out that's all

No Offense meant but that is totally incorrect according to NH law.

Disclaimer: Not a lawyer and only know what the written law states by doing my own research and reading the actual WRITTEN LAW.


I will admit it's been a couple years since I have read all of the links that I have provided above, but these are direct links to what the actual written law says, not what some Barney Fife LEO (which most of them have no idea what the laws are that they enforce in uncommon areas such as this, and I know a number of LEO's) say or what their OPINION is. They are not opinion enforcement officers, they are law enforcement officers. Therefore you only need to worry about what the written law says. And it's not a bad idea to carry a written copy of them with or near you or at least be very familiar with important RSA's.

According to NH law, the only place that you cannot carry a firearm is in the business area of a courtroom. Court security is in fact required by law to provide you with a way to secure your firearm. See "159:19 Courthouse Security" referenced above.

It's also been a while since I looked up the federal laws for gun free school zones but it was basically used and meant to be an "add on law". In other words used to add charges to drug dealers operating in school zones. There were very few cases of it I could find and the vast, overwhelmingly  majority of them were drug related add ons. ETA: the reason that NH doesn't technically meet the requirements for the federal law and obtaining your LTC is that in NH you can get a license via a town selectman, thereby circumventing the background check. IIRC the federal law requires a CLEO to sign and background check.

The best weapon you can have combating stupid cops (we in NH have it pretty lucky compared to other states when it comes to stupid laws and LEO's) is knowing what the laws are and knowing /exercising your rights.

Hope this helped and Archangel I wasn't singling you out, just pointing out that you asked your local LEO's and most LEO's do not know what they're talking about when it comes to anything other than routine laws such as speeding, drugs and DWI. When you talk to LEO's ask them what the actual law says, or where you can find it in writing. NOT what their opinion is....

On a side note, if you are carrying correctly nobody will ever know anyways.

Stay safe and if you're a law abiding citizen please carry everywhere and anywhere you can....... which in NH is just about everywhere

Great post.



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Can you take possession of a long gun from an ffl in New Hampshire if you are from out of state ?

Fed law allows one to purchase a long gun in any state but only thru an FFL, however it also states that the transfer must be legal in the state it occurs in AND must be legal for the new owner to possess wherever he/she lives.