The editorial comments in this article are brought to you by a staff writer for Law Enforcement Today.
CONCORD, NH – The top three states in the nation that have the lowest number of homicides also have some of the least restrictive gun laws in the country. One of those states, New Hampshire, reported only 12 during the year 2020.
2020: Gun Crazy New Hampshire Has Lowest Murder Rate in the Nation – Granite Grok
granitegrok.comDec 11, 2021, 02:30 PM— Musex (@Musex58475389) December 12, 2021
Democrats and liberals want the world to believe that less restrictive gun laws mean there will be more violence and mayhem. However, the opposite is true, at least in terms of New Hampshire.
The State of New Hampshire does have gun laws that dictate when a person can legally own a firearm. The common-sense measures are that they are of legal age, they are not the subject of any type of judge order (injunction), and they are not a convicted felon.
Those who want to have a firearm must request and be given a license by the:
“[S]electmen of a town, the mayor or chief of police or a full-time police officer designated by them respectively, the county sheriff for a resident of an unincorporated place, or the county sheriff if designated by the selectmen of a town that has no police chief.”
Now that we have an idea of what the gun laws are for the state, what if anything could they possibly have to do with the significantly low homicide rate?
Is it because the citizens of the State are more law-abiding than in other areas of the country or is it that the criminals do not know who does and does not have a gun on them in which to defend themselves?
While there may be plenty of differing opinions on the matter, it is important to also take into consideration the number of mass shootings that the state of New Hampshire has reported since the records have been kept (1981).
After all, a state with that lenient of gun laws must have had several, right?
Like New Hampshire: Constitutional 2A State with open/conceal carry no permit = lowest murder rate in the country. Look it up. https://t.co/YnBFzu9Rik
— Dennis Irwin (@DennisIrwin77) April 17, 2021
Wrong. Since record-keeping began on active shooters and mass shooting events, 1982, the State of New Hampshire has not had one, not even one reported incident.
It’s shocking to some for a state that allows guns in every legal citizen’s hands.
And New Hampshire is not the only state that has constitutional carry laws that are designed to allow citizens who are not legally barred from owning a firearm to do so, however, it is they wish.
All they have to do is apply to a law enforcement authority, have their record checked along with criminal and court databases.
Two other states with constitutional carry laws are Vermont and Maine which have the second and third-lowest homicide rates.
Is there a coincidence?
Conversely, cities that have strict gun laws, like, Chicago, Illinois, have had a significant increase in violent crimes, especially homicides. For instance, in 2020, the City of Chicago alone had a total of 769 homicides whereas the entire state of New Hampshire had 12.
Despite having one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the country, New Hampshire has the lowest murder rate as well, according to FBI crime data.
What does this mean to supporters of federal gun bans?https://t.co/OfXS5WCfaB@NHGOP @NHDems #NHPolitics— NH Journal (@NewHampJournal) October 22, 2021
Other cities that have seen significant increases in their homicides rate have broken the grisly records they previously held.
Cities like Portland, Indianapolis, Toledo, Rochester, Philadelphia, Columbus, Baton Rouge, Austin, Albuquerque, Tucson, St Paul, and Louisville have all surpassed the number of murders they previously had the year prior, and in some cases, in decades.
The city which has broken the longest standing record so far is Austin, which has reached the highest number of reported homicides since 1984.
While there are many possible reasons for the significant rise in homicides throughout the nation, and in particular the ones noted above, there are two common themes that all of the above twelve cities have that New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine do not have currently.
Those are strict gun laws and the twelve cities noted are all, every one of them, managed by Democratic leadership.
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Sheriff on Oxford school shooting: We don’t need more gun laws, we need to actually prosecute criminals
On Wednesday, December 1st, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard was asked by reporters about the possibility of the Oxford High School attack leading to “consideration of gun legislation,” to which he responded by saying:
“We have a whole lot of gun laws that are meant to hold criminals accountable when they commit a crime, when they use a gun, when they carry a gun illegally, and they are not utilized today.
That’s one of our constant concerns around the country … we see this across the nation, we catch somebody illegally with a gun and it’s pled down to a misdemeanor and they’re out.”
The sheriff added:
“I believe the surest way to get a handle on holding people accountable when they’re doing things illegally with a gun is to punish them and that’s not happening in many communities across America today.”
Bouchard also referenced the National Institute Criminal Background Check System (NICS), saying:
“There is a huge number of people that are prohibited from buying that firearm that are caught by the system that are never prosecuted for trying. We have gun laws in place, we’re not holding people accountable.”
Michigan Democrats, on the other hand, have used this deadly shooting to renew their calls for gun control legislation to be passed in the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.
On Wednesday, December 1st, Democratic Michigan state Sens. Brenda Carter and Rosemary Bayer, who represent the district that Oxford High School is located in, released a statement from the legislature’s Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention Caucus calling for “commonsense gun safety legislation.”
The statement read, in part:
“We are heartbroken by the tragic events that happened in our own backyard. No parent should have to fear for their child’s safety at school and no community should have to bury the children they helped raise.
While we have met resistance on taking proactive measures to prevent gun violence in the past, we are asking folks to consider a change of heart and mind so the students who died at Oxford and who have died in countless other tragedies across the country, have not died in vain.”
Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer also released a statement calling for lawmakers to “act against gun violence.” She said:
“Gun violence is a public health crisis that claims lives every day. We have the tools to reduce gun violence in Michigan. This is a time for us to come together and help our children feel safe at school.”
The Associated Press (AP) noted that Bayer introduced a bill earlier in the year aimed a holding adults accountable for not properly securing their firearms. The gunman in the Oxford High shooting, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, is believed to have used a gun that his father bought on the day after Thanksgiving to carry out his attack.
The bill would reportedly require adults to keep a firearm in a securely locked container if they know it is accessible to minors. If a minor obtained the gun and used it to kill or injure, the adult would face up to five years in prison.
Republicans have not held a hearing on the measure or other gun-control legislation. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said:
“If we get obsessed with eliminating all risks, we will then develop and evolve into a country we won’t recognize because we’ll also have no freedoms. It’s a balance. It’s a very narrow road. It is hard. These kinds of events keep those thoughts in mind.”
Editor note: In 2020, we saw a nationwide push to “defund the police”. While we all stood here shaking our heads wondering if these people were serious… they cut billions of dollars in funding for police officers.
And as a result, crime has skyrocketed – all while the same politicians who said “you don’t need guns, the government will protect you” continued their attacks on both our police officers and our Second Amendment rights.
And that’s exactly why we’re launching this national crowdfunding campaign as part of our efforts to help “re-fund the police”.
For those looking for a quick link to get in the fight and support the cause, click here.
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