Current:Home > NewsBipartisan legislation planned in response to New Hampshire hospital shooting -StockHorizon
Bipartisan legislation planned in response to New Hampshire hospital shooting
View
Date:2025-04-27 17:33:05
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire lawmakers are working on bipartisan legislation to prevent dangerously mentally ill people from buying or possessing guns in response to the fatal shooting of a psychiatric hospital security guard last month.
The deadline to draft bills for the upcoming legislative session already has passed, but the House Rules Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to allow a late bill co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Terry Roy, a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, and Democrat David Meuse, who has pushed for gun control. Republicans hold the slimmest of majorities in the 400-member House, meaning cooperation will be essential for anything to pass next year.
“For us to be together here today tells you something,” Roy said. “We think that this is serious, and we think it needs to be addressed now.”
Federal law prohibits anyone who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution from possessing a firearm, and purchasing guns through a licensed dealer requires a background check that asks about such hospitalizations. However, New Hampshire does not provide mental health records to the national database that is used for background checks.
“There’s a gap between our recognizing it and it actually happening,” Roy said of the federal law.
He and Meuse said their goal is to ensure that those who are involuntarily committed cannot purchase or possess firearms until it is determined that they are no longer a danger to themselves or others.
“One of the things that we want to make sure of is that if we have a prohibition on weapons for people with certain mental health conditions, if those people get better, they have a way to retain their right to own weapons again,” Meuse said. “So there’s a way to reverse this process when people get better.”
It remains unclear how and when the man who killed officer Bradley Haas at New Hampshire Hospital on Nov. 17 acquired his weapons. Police had confiscated an assault-style rifle and handgun from John Madore after an arrest in 2016, and authorities said those weapons remain in police custody. Madore, 33, who had been involuntarily admitted to the hospital in 2016, was shot and killed by a state trooper after he killed Haas.
veryGood! (79)
Related
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- True crime’s popularity brings real change for defendants and society. It’s not all good
- Senior dog found on floating shopping cart gets a forever home: See the canal rescue
- Trump wants to narrow his deficit with women but he’s not changing how he talks about them
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Election Throws Uncertainty Onto Biden’s Signature Climate Law
- The Depths of Their Discontent: Young Americans Are Distraught Over Climate Change
- Trump talks about reporters being shot and says he shouldn’t have left White House after 2020 loss
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Florida will vote on marijuana, abortion in an election that will test GOP’s dominance
Ranking
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Could daylight saving time ever be permanent? Where it stands in the states
- Sotheby's to hold its first auction for artwork made by a robot; bids could reach $180,000
- Opinion: What is Halloween like at the White House? It depends on the president.
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Pacific and Caribbean Island Nations Call for the First Universal Carbon Levy on International Shipping Emissions
- These Luxury Goods Last Forever (And Will Help You Save Money)
- Oklahoma storms injure at least 11 and leave thousands without power
Recommendation
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
Britain has banned protests outside abortion clinics, but silent prayer is a gray area
Rare coin sells for over $500K after sitting in Ohio bank vault for 46 years
Here’s what to watch as Election Day approaches in the U.S.
Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
Hindered Wildfire Responses, Costlier Agriculture Likely If Trump Dismantles NOAA, Experts Warn
North Carolina sees turnout record with more than 4.2M ballots cast at early in-person voting sites
Jill Duggar Details Complicated Relationship With Parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar