By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Legislation which appears to be pitting the University of New Hampshire against the Second Amendment has been introduced in New Hampshire, and it is stirring up a heated discussion in Concord—the state capital—and the town of Durham, where the town council is defending the school’s authority to regulate weapons on campus.
At issue is House Bill 1793, which would “prohibit colleges, universities and other institutes of higher learning from imposing restrictions on firearms and other weapons if they accept state funding,” according to InDepthNH,org.
In a guest column appearing in the Portsmouth Herald, Town Administrator Todd L. Selig writes, “The Council’s view is that those closest to campus life – UNH leadership, local law enforcement, host communities such as Durham, Keene, Plymouth, and Manchester, and mental‑health professionals – are best positioned to assess risks and adopt policies that keep students safe. HB 1793 would remove that local discretion and, in our judgment, make campuses like UNH less safe rather than more.”
He called HB 1793 “a significant and unnecessary increase in risk on a compact, residential campus.”
InDepthNH.org, which describes itself as “the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism,’ is covering the debate. It quotes state Rep. Wayne Burton, a Durham Democrat, who “noted that while the second amendment guarantees a right to bear arms, the third amendment guarantees the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
However, a quick check of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights reveals that’s not what the Third Amendment says. The Third Amendment deals with quartering of soldiers.
“No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law,” the amendment states.
There is nothing in the Third Amendment remotely related to a “right to be free from violence,” as Burton reportedly asserted.
HB 1793 is sponsored by Rep. Samuel Farrington, a Rochester Republican. He contends that citizens have a right to bear arms and that universities and colleges are prohibiting students from exercising that right.
Into this controversy has stepped the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), a national grassroots gun rights organization headquartered on the far side of the country, in Washington state. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb observed campus shootings have demonstrated a need to re-examine “gun-free-zone” policies now existing on most campuses. He said those advocating against changing the law seem to forget recent campus shootings which were not prevented.
“Their logic is all wrong,” said Gottlieb. “Those incidents occurred on campuses where gun-free policies exist, leaving students and faculty unable to defend themselves. In an environment where people have not only a right but the means to fight back, it levels the field against evil doers, whether they are criminals or crazy people. We encourage people to support House Bill 1793 and tell their lawmakers to pass the measure.
“Colleges and universities can no longer masquerade as Ivory Tower institutions that are immune from attacks by evil people who belong either behind bars or in an institution,” he observed. “What once may have been considered a manifestation of cultural elitism has—because of Brown University—been shown to be a deadly case of self-delusion.”
