Another "NH nonresident license" question

[JackO]

There was an earlier discussion on getting a NH nonresident license with MA restricted license. Sorry, cant find it. It was said, NH lately rejected applications from MA residents with restricted LTCs. Somebody suggested contacting NH "gun owners ?" organization to fix the problem. Does anybody know if the issue is resolved already?

 

[Len-2A Training]

It's safe to say No! My latest info was a week ago from calling the NH Licensing folks.

Use Advanced Search in the Gun Laws forum to find the thread after checking Stickies first.

I doubt that anyone contacted any of the 3 NH pro-gun groups . . . many just restrict themselves to complaining amongst same-thinking folks instead of being pro-active to get the problem resolved.

 

[billmelater]

I contacted Pro-Gun NH on July 6 about my non resident renewal, and received this the following day;

"First, we're glad you informed us of this. Just a few years ago, I
contacted John Stephen, who was then the Assistant Commissioner of the
NH
Department of Safety (and a personal friend), after discovering that
the NH
State Police Permits and Licensing Unit was refusing to grant NH
non-resident carry licenses to people whose home-state license was
restricted to "hunting and target," common in Massachusetts and New
York.
To make a long story short, there was neither a state statute nor an
"administrative rule" (which has the force of law in NH) requiring
this, and
John instructed the supervisor of the Permits and Licensing Unit, State

Police Sergeant Pat Poirier, to issue non-resident NH carry licenses in
such
situations. Although I don't recall exactly when this happened, I
wrote an
article about it, and with John Stephen's permission, had it published
in
"The Message," the monthly newsletter of Gun Owners Action League, the
Massachusetts NRA affiliate organization. (I'm a Benefactor member of
GOAL,
and, in 1964, served in the Army with Mike Yacino, who was GOAL's
executive
director from 1976 until he retired a year or so ago.) I believe they
put
it on the front page.

Well, Sergeant Poirier has recently retired, and John Stephen is now
the
Commissioner of the NH Health and Human Services department. On the
other
hand, I'm proud to claim the current Assistant Commissioner of Safety,
Earl
Sweeney, as a friend (he also graciously accepted a seat on the Council
of
Advisors of Pro-Gun New Hampshire), and will make every attempt to
contact
him about this situation within the week. Please be patient, but we
will
keep you posted.



Sam Cohen"


Which other groups might it help to contact?

 

[Len-2A Training]

You nailed it.

Sam is a good friend and a no-nonsense guy on the 2A! He escaped MA some years ago, after Ch. 180 became law.

If anyone can make this right, Sam is the man.

 

[KMaurer]

You nailed it.

Sam is a good friend and a no-nonsense guy on the 2A! He escaped MA some years ago, after Ch. 180 became law.

If anyone can make this right, Sam is the man.

+1

Just don't get him going about CZ-52s and Makarovs unless you've got a good supply of beer on hand.

Ken

 

[Admin]

I'm so glad to hear that Sam is a good guy.

 

[JackO]

Bill,
Thank you very much for taking pro-active approach to resolve the problem. Please keep us posted if you hear anything back from Sam Cohen. My guess is many more MA gun enthusiasts will be very thankful to Sam for helping us with this issue.

Could you please PM me with contact info for Sam that I can personally thank him?

 

[Len-2A Training]

Bill,
Thank you very much for taking pro-active approach to resolve the problem. Please keep us posted if you hear anything back from Sam Cohen. My guess is many more MA gun enthusiasts will be very thankful to Sam for helping us with this issue.

Could you please PM me with contact info for Sam that I can personally thank him?

Check out the Pro-Gun group in the State Orgs forum. The phone number and Email both go directly to Sam!

This issue apparently reared it's ugly head again since last September, as Sam and I were talking about how he had resolved it some time earlier when we met for lunch before the Concord gun show. NH is a "different world" as we headed off for dinner after the gun show and we were both dry firing the new snubbie he had bought for Annie in the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant in downtown Concord! [WARNING: Don't try this at home in MA!]

 

[JackO]

Len,
Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Jack,

Glad to help. Hope this gets resolved quickly.

Sam's got more contacts in NH than anyone else, so he should be able to fix this one again . . . until someone new comes along and tries to make their own rules. [See it doesn't just happen in MA!]

 

[WayneWong]

I made an inquiry and received a response from Sam Cohen of Pro Gun NH. As of today 10/2/07 the problem has not been resolved, and a NH license will not be issued to an applicant whose home state license is restricted.

So let's try for Maine!

 

[billmelater]

I wrote to Sam Cohen (again) in late August and got this reply on Aug 30:

"Bill,

We're still waiting for a response from Earl Sweeney (Assistant Commissioner, NH Dept. of Safety -- also an Advisor to Pro-Gun New Hampshire, and a personal friend). We've reminded him of the previous policy, of my request in 2003 that resulted in John Stephen (Mr. Sweeney's predecessor) stopping the same restrictive practice, and of the present concern.

Note NH Administrative Rule SAF-C 2102.03 (which has the force of law):

Saf-C 2102.03 Permit Required

No nonresident permit shall be issued unless the applicant provides a copy of a state license to carry a pistol or revolver, or unless the applicant displays, for verification, a state license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: RSA 21-P:14; RSA 159:6

The obvious argument here is that the Administrative Rule doesn't mention license restrictions, so if an applicant has a CCW of any kind, it's still a "state license to carry a pistol or revolver."

Sam Cohen"

Apparently, the argument isn't all that obvious. NH seems to be getting more Massified every day, with police officials dictating what the laws mean, rather than enforcing them.

 

[WayneWong]

The issue has just been resolved in our favor!

http://www.pgnh.org/


Read the entry for 12/17.

 

[pdm]

All good things come to those who wait.