This is good news for NH!

SB 141 passed the New Hampshire Senate on a 14-10 vote.

As we have previously reported, SB 141 will repeal the delay prone NH "gun line."

Rep. John Burt and Sen. Bob Giuda

We will send an alert when this is scheduled for its next public hearing in the Senate Finance Committee, and after that it will move to the House of Representatives.

I would be remiss if I didn't publicly thank Senator Giuda, Rep. Burt  and the five other co-sponsors for introducing this important legislation.  It is also important to thank Senator Carson for her strong remarks to the Senate in support of SB 141.  And of course thanks to all the Senators who voted for the "ought to pass" motion.

Please watch your inbox for an alert to let you know what action is needed to keep SB 141 moving forward!

As we saw yesterday, grassroots activism works!

In liberty,

Alan M. Rice
New Hampshire State Director
Gun Owners of America

Also this from the GOA.
https://www.gunowners.org/nh03142021/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NH%20%2003192021%20%20SB%20141%20Passed&utm_content=NH%20%2003192021%20%20SB%20141%20Passed+CID_614c078ec66ddbd3a15d15e11c23bc5e&utm_source=Email&utm_term=previously%20reported

Thank you Alan!

Thanks for doing the heavy lifting!

Thanks for your efforts on this.   The NH Gun Line has long been a redundant, slow, entrenched bureaucracy that provides poor service.   Finally, something is being done about getting rid of it so we can use NICS for handguns.

Thanks for your hard work!  How long do you expect it to take to get through the Senate Finance committee and passed on to the House of Representatives?

Question, was it discussed at all to propose legislation to do away with the NICS check entirely for carry permit holders like some other states have?

Not sure about that one. But the next move for SB 141 is a public hearing in the Senate Finance Committee, and after that it will move to the House of Representatives.

Updated info!
https://newhampshire.gunowners.org/03232021-2/

This is an email from the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition.  I tend to agree that disbanding the NH Gun Line and giving all the power to the Federal Government is a very bad thing for NH residents and supporters of the Second Amendment.

 
"The New Hampshire Senate passed Senate Bill 141 last week in an effort to disband the "NH Gun Line" - the Permit and Licensing Unit at the New Hampshire State Police. This would repeal New Hampshire's ability to act as a point of contact for the NICS background check when purchasing a firearm and give it to the federal government.
 
The federal government, currently, is under complete control of anti-gun politicians. President Biden's administration is militantly anti-gun and is launching an outright assault on your gun rights. Unfortunately, he has the support of a majority in the House and likely a majority in the United States Senate.
 
Extremist policies are being pushed forward by these radical politicians. If we allow the Feds to take over responsibility for our NH Background check and HR1446 passes it could allow for a 10-day waiting period between the purchase and possession of a firearm, leaving you unprotected. In other words, you'd buy your gun and go home without it. These policies are extremely dangerous, unconstitutional, and a complete infringement of your natural rights.
 
So, why on earth would we give up the "gun line" and allow the federal government to control our background check system?
 
The timing could not be worse. Another bill under consideration at the federal level, HR 8, would make all firearm sales traceable, a de facto gun registry. This is their path to ultimate confiscation and the complete ban on privately owned firearms.
 
Tell the New Hampshire Senate to keep the NH Gun Line and keep the Feds out of our system. Tell the New Hampshire Senate that we, at the state level, are much more capable of protecting natural rights than the Federal Government and we should never give up state control of our system.
Email the Senate Finance committee and ask them to pressure the Commissioner to fix the broken system. He will be before their committee on Tuesday this week. The list of committee members are below. Let them know that we expect the DOS to do their job.

[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]
 
There are many claims proponents of SB 141 are making -- check out the attached page, where we address those claims and refute them.

Lastly, there are two other issues:
First: if you are denied from the FBI line, you will need to submit your social security number and fingerprints to appeal a denial, why do they need these?
 
Second: There was a GunsAmerica article from 2018 detailing the issues with the FBI NICS line:  https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/fbi-bureaucratic-incompetence-nfa/
 
“Last month we reported that five individuals had undertaken a suit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the grounds that the agency erroneously denied their background check requests and refused to process their appeals. This week three additional individuals added their names to the suit after receiving letters from the Feds claiming that no appeals process exists to contest denied background checks involving NFA items.
“It’s not a lawful position. I don’t know what else to say. It’s just not lawful,” Stephen D. Stamboulieh, the attorney for the plaintiffs, told GunsAmerica. “The FBI is denying my appeal remedy, which is in and of itself a violation of my due process rights. You’re telling me I’m on a list, and you’re giving me no way to get off that list.”
Stamboulieh says he’s been contacted by over 100 individuals who have been waiting years for the FBI to process their background check appeals for Title I firearms (pistols, long guns, etc.).
 
…
If you’re wondering why gun-rights organizations haven’t stepped in, Stamboulieh says the answer is simple: there’s no money in it.
“The way that 18 USC 925A is written, it only provides attorney’s fees if you’re the prevailing party,” he said. “So, what the government does is, as soon as they get one of these complaints, they voluntarily change their position, and they clear your guy. That automatically gets [the Feds] out of paying for attorney’s fees.”

Ammoland posted this article just recently showing that the FBI NICS system is designed to require excessive reporting which will consume more and more time every month meaning the delays at the FBI NICS call center will only get worse over time:

https://www.ammoland.com/2021/03/leaked-documents-show-change-how-atf-handles-delayed-denied-cases/#axzz6pi7j5q88

Here they posted an article about how the delays have gotten worse.

https://www.ammoland.com/2020/09/the-nra-ila-everytowns-misleading-nics-report/#axzz6pi7j5q88

The bottom line is we need to fix what is broken in our backyard until it is repealed. Trusting DC to fix this is a mirage.
 
In all cases, the NH Gun Line has been easier to deal with for any denials.  
 
Your Senator will vote again on Senate Bill 141 this Thursday. Find your Senator here (http://gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/members/senate_roster.aspx) and tell them to vote to keep our gun rights by opposing SB 141.
 
Additional information:
Claim: the NHGL does additional checks.
Partially true: They were conducting unauthorised checks and that behavior has been stopped. The Commissioner of Safety has implemented new policies that are more in line with current federal regulations.
Solution: Pass legislation to improve NH background check system, instead of abolishing it.

Claim: The NHGL is an added layer of bureaucracy.
False. This is a separate entrance into the common 'NICS' databases.  The NICS database is a series of three separate criminal databases (III, NCIC, and NICS) and several groups have access to this: (Courts, police departments, FFLs via e-check, and the NHGL).
Solution: Passing the background check system back to the feds does not remove a layer of bureaucracy, it just changes which one we use. In New Hampshire, you can talk to a person and refute your denial more easily than you can with a bureaucrat in Washington, D.C.

Claim: The NHGL is an additional layer above the FBI call center.
False.  The NHGL does not call into the FBI call center, the NHGL has direct access into the same database as the FBI call center.

Claim: The checks have been taking days.
Partially true.  This was true through the end of the year until NHFC started putting pressure on the DoS commissioner’s office to fix this system.  Since then the checks have gone from days to less than an hour in almost all cases. There are still issues and we are continuing to pressure the leadership of the NHGL to fix the remaining issues  (number of available lines, response time during peak periods, response time to facsimile submissions, etc.)
Solution: Instead of disbanding the “Gun Line,” New Hampshire Senators can amend the legislation to implement concrete changes to the Permits and Licensing Division - such as mandating 90% of checks be completed instantly while the dealer is still on the phone.

Claim: The two processes are the same, why spend the money (or, let's save the money):
Fact: If you are ever denied by the Feds it is hard to find out the reason for the denial. The Feds send back a form letter stating that you are denied. One attorney has actually requested that potential clients that are denied actually attempt to buy a handgun as the NHGL provides the reason for the denial (State, Case docket # and date), the feds send a form letter saying you are denied under 18 USC 922.  This is after you send them your social security number and fingerprints.


For Liberty,


Dave Wheeler"
 

Well this is confusing now.

Glad I'm not the only one who cringes at the thought of turning over handgun bg checks to the feds. Didn't NHGL keep on truckin when NICS was down? Seems like maybe NHGL could be expanded to include long guns at some point. I would like to see NHGL improved to include online checks with no phone call.

Last two handguns I bought were cleared in 15 minutes. The very last one involved a couple minutes on hold and no call back.

I won’t be a NH resident for another week but I’ve been following this thread and some links a little bit.

I’m probably wrong but I thought the gun line was for handgun purchases where the background check was done through the NH state police. Who in turn runs it through NICS anyways.

If that’s the case then why would the extra step of NH state police be needed?

Or am I way off here and need to just shut up?

That is what I have read and been led to believe as well.

NH checks state level and then forwards the inquiry to NICS for Fed level check. If that is the case, we're already tied into the Feds and will be screwed along with all other legal gun owners in Amerika by Biden's actions regardless of this bill.