Steven Mace
01-27-2002, 04:12 AM
Bill would change school-grounds gun law
Now, police can't charge offenders
By KEITH MEATTO
Monitor staff
Schools can expel students for bringing a gun to school, but the local police cannot charge them with a crime. That would change under a bill now circulating in the House.
The federal government can prosecute anybody for carrying a gun on campus. But bill supporters said that arrangement leaves local police in the lurch and poses a safety risk.
In 1998, for example, a Gilford student brought a rifle to school. The police confiscated the gun and notified federal authorities. To the frustration of Police Chief Evans Juris, however, agents did not arrive on the scene for three days.
"We want to respond swiftly," Juris said. "We're right here in the community and can react immediately rather than waiting for somebody to be dispatched from elsewhere in the state."
A school shooting in Oregon shows why a swift response is crucial, according to bill sponsor Rep. Bill Johnson, a Democrat from Gilford. In 1998, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel was expelled from school for possession of a stolen gun. The next morning, he returned with three more guns and started shooting. Two students died and 25 were injured.
The bill makes carrying a gun at school a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum jail sentence of one year. But the bill stops short of banning firearms from schools entirely.
"I've tried to walk a tightrope," said Johnson, "This is New Hampshire, and the Second Amendment is held in high esteem here."
For example, the bill exempts non-students over 18 with valid gun permits. This provision allows too much leeway, according to the Million Mom March, a gun control advocacy group that otherwise supports the bill.
In addition, under the bill a person could still:
-Keep a gun in a car parked at school, provided the weapon is unloaded and stored in a locked case.
-Participate in school-sanctioned activities that include weapons, such as an ROTC program.
-Cut through school grounds to reach hunting grounds, if his gun is unloaded and he clears the practice with the school in advance.
A House subcommittee chaired by Rep. Stan Stevens, a Republican from Wolfeboro, will take up the bill next Friday. If enacted, the law would take effect next January.
Guns are present in New Hampshire schools, according to a recent survey of 1,303 students in 56 schools statewide.
More than 4 percent of students said they had carried a gun in the 30 days before responding to the New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey, for which the state released results this week.
In the same period, nearly 17 percent said they had carried a weapon such as a club, knife or gun.
Rep. Richard Kennedy, a Republican from Contoocook who serves on the board of directors of Gun Owners of New Hampshire, labeled the bill "feel-good" legislation.
"The only thing that's ever worked is what the Israelis did - arm their schools," he said. "But it's politically unacceptable to do that."
Friday, January 25, 2002
http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/front2002/schoolgun_km_2002.shtml
Steve Mace
Now, police can't charge offenders
By KEITH MEATTO
Monitor staff
Schools can expel students for bringing a gun to school, but the local police cannot charge them with a crime. That would change under a bill now circulating in the House.
The federal government can prosecute anybody for carrying a gun on campus. But bill supporters said that arrangement leaves local police in the lurch and poses a safety risk.
In 1998, for example, a Gilford student brought a rifle to school. The police confiscated the gun and notified federal authorities. To the frustration of Police Chief Evans Juris, however, agents did not arrive on the scene for three days.
"We want to respond swiftly," Juris said. "We're right here in the community and can react immediately rather than waiting for somebody to be dispatched from elsewhere in the state."
A school shooting in Oregon shows why a swift response is crucial, according to bill sponsor Rep. Bill Johnson, a Democrat from Gilford. In 1998, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel was expelled from school for possession of a stolen gun. The next morning, he returned with three more guns and started shooting. Two students died and 25 were injured.
The bill makes carrying a gun at school a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum jail sentence of one year. But the bill stops short of banning firearms from schools entirely.
"I've tried to walk a tightrope," said Johnson, "This is New Hampshire, and the Second Amendment is held in high esteem here."
For example, the bill exempts non-students over 18 with valid gun permits. This provision allows too much leeway, according to the Million Mom March, a gun control advocacy group that otherwise supports the bill.
In addition, under the bill a person could still:
-Keep a gun in a car parked at school, provided the weapon is unloaded and stored in a locked case.
-Participate in school-sanctioned activities that include weapons, such as an ROTC program.
-Cut through school grounds to reach hunting grounds, if his gun is unloaded and he clears the practice with the school in advance.
A House subcommittee chaired by Rep. Stan Stevens, a Republican from Wolfeboro, will take up the bill next Friday. If enacted, the law would take effect next January.
Guns are present in New Hampshire schools, according to a recent survey of 1,303 students in 56 schools statewide.
More than 4 percent of students said they had carried a gun in the 30 days before responding to the New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey, for which the state released results this week.
In the same period, nearly 17 percent said they had carried a weapon such as a club, knife or gun.
Rep. Richard Kennedy, a Republican from Contoocook who serves on the board of directors of Gun Owners of New Hampshire, labeled the bill "feel-good" legislation.
"The only thing that's ever worked is what the Israelis did - arm their schools," he said. "But it's politically unacceptable to do that."
Friday, January 25, 2002
http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/front2002/schoolgun_km_2002.shtml
Steve Mace