The senate will meet on Wednesday, September 7th at 1:00 pm to vote on bills vetoed by Governor Lynch.
Two of these bills involve significant civil liberties issues.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please contact your Senator and urge that he or she vote to sustain the veto to protect these individual rights.
Find your State Senator at:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/senate/senatemembers.asp
SB 88;
Most of the law enforcement agencies in the State oppose this bill. The NHCLU has concerns as well. SB 88 removes from statute the requirement that an individual retreat from an encounter if the individual can do so with complete safety. The requirement to retreat has never existed for an individual in his or her own home.
Current law balances the right to use deadly force in self-defence with the unintended consequences of potential threats to safety in public places. New Hampshire law already allows citizens to use deadly force in any location to protect themselves or another from deadly force.
Removal of the requirement to retreat significantly increases the potential for deadly encounters to occurr in public places.
Please contact your Senator and urge him or her to vote to sustain the Governor's veto of SB 88.
Find your State Senator at:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/senate/senatemembers.asp
SB 129;
The right to vote is a fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens under the United States and the New Hampshire constitutions. An eligible voter who attempts to vote on election day should be able to have his or her vote count on election day. SB 129 threatens that right.
SB 129 was passed to address voter fraud, a problem that does not exist in New Hampshire. Only two cases of voter fraud have come to light in the past decade. Neither of these instances of fraud would be addressed by SB 129.
SB 129 requires every voter to present specified photo identification in order to vote in any municipal state or federal election in New Hampshore. Without identification issued by the United States government, the State of New Hampshire or a driver's license from another state, the voter may only cast a provisional ballot. The voter must then return to their city or town clerks office within 2 1/2 days with the specified photo ID, a waiver, or an affidavit of religious exemption in order for their provisional ballot to be counted. In addition, there is no process to guarantee the confidentiality of such a provisonal ballot.
- Many senior citizens have surrendered their driver's license as they age, and do not have the required photo ID.
- Many students do not have the required ID.
- The disabled who do not drive are unlikely to have the required ID.
- Women who marry or divorce may not have the required ID in their new or restored name.
The City and Towns Clerks Association, the AARP, the League of Women Voters, the Secretary of State and the NHCLU all oppose SB 129
Please contact your Senator and urge her or him to vote to sustain the Governor's veto of SB 129..
Find your State Senator at:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/senate/senatemembers.asp