House revives gun bill mandating NH share mental health data for FBI background checks
CONCORD — The sole bipartisan gun bill of the legislative session was revived Thursday in the New Hampshire House, prompting a heated argument among House Republicans.
A bill to require serious mental illness information to be reported to the FBI’s background check system for firearm purchases was killed last week by the Senate, but its language was added as an amendment onto SB 476, a bill having to do with the replacement of the men’s New Hampshire state prison, on the House floor.
“You may recognize this amendment. It's the bill that we passed a few weeks ago. And it still does the same things. It still takes nobody's gun rights away,” said Rep. Terry Roy, R-Deerfield. “I think that we pass this one more time to send the people across the southern wall the message that we believe in safety, we believe in freedom, but we also believe that there are limits and we have to be careful.”
Roy, a staunch Second Amendment supporter, cosponsored the original bill (HB 1711) along with gun violence prevention advocate Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth, in response to the shooting and killing of Bradley Haas, a security guard at the New Hampshire Hospital, by a man who had previously been a patient there. It was the singular gun bill that received bipartisan support this session, passing the House before getting tabled without discussion in the Senate.
Rep. J.R. Hoell, R-Dunbarton, spoke against the amendment, saying that it would jeopardize the underlying bill to set aside money for the men’s prison.
"These people potentially might be in danger of suicide, but this will cause the unintended consequence of them not seeking the mental health treatment they need,” said Hoell. “Every gun group in the state and many national ones stood opposed.”
On Thursday, the amendment passed 202-165, with 27 Republicans joining 175 Democrats in support of the bill. The bill as amended passed 212-155.
Republican reps square off following vote
Shortly after the bill passed, the House went into a twenty-minute recess as an argument with raised voices broke out among House Republicans.
Rep. Travis Corcoran, R-Weare, posted his account of the conflict on X, where he said tensions between Roy and other House Republicans almost seemed to amount to a "fistfight."
Upon return from recess, Rep. Josh Yokela, R-Fremont, moved to reprimand Roy for “conduct unbecoming.” That motion, as well as another to reprimand Rep. Cyril Aures, R-Chichester, were both tabled.
House Democratic Leader Rep. Matt Wilhelm, D-Manchester, released a statement condemning the behavior.
“Today, the behavior from Republicans following the passage of a bipartisan gun violence prevention provision, HB 1711, which was first introduced following the death of Chief Bradley Haas, was a despicable stain on this hallowed legislative body,” he wrote. “Escalating tempers in the chamber, where we know guns are present, is unproductive and potentially dangerous for the safety of House members, staff, press, and the visiting public.”
The battle for Bradley’s Law is not over yet. The amended bill now heads back to the Senate, where it may face a long negotiation process between the two chambers.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH House revives gun bill on sharing mental health data with FBI
