Republicans fear for their lives as New Hampshire bans guns from floor of House of Representatives

by Miranda Nelson on January 4th, 2013 at 10:24 AM

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On January 2, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted 196-153 to reinstate a ban on guns and deadly weapons on the floor of the New Hampshire State House as well as in the building's gallery, anterooms, and cloakrooms.

However, many Republican members of the Democratic-controlled House took umbrage with the measure, claiming it was "radical", "unconstitutional", and "unconscionable" that they would not be allowed to carry deadly weapons into areas that frequently have visitors from the public, including children.

Keep in mind that members of the public are still able to carry weapons in every other place within the State house complex.

However, that hardly satisfied the House Republicans, who felt they ought to be permitted to swagger about with a gun strapped to them at all times.

In an attempt to block the motion, the Republicans offered up every specious argument they could, including quibbling with the phrase "deadly weapon".

Republican member Dan Dumaine, take it away!

“A holstered gun is not a deadly weapon. . . . But anything can be used as a deadly weapon. A credit card can be used to cut somebody’s throat.”

Ah, yes. The deadly credit card. Once just an amiable friend who helped rack up debt and occasionally jimmy open doors, now it's a "deadly weapon" in the wild and vivid imaginations of trembling Republicans.

Quick! Empty out your wallets lest some madman attempt to murderize the 400 members of the House with nothing but a piece of plastic!

Republican representative John Burt fretted over whether the House could truly be safe if no one was armed to the teeth.

“If we become a gun-free zone, we are telling every nut in this state that we are sitting ducks," Burt told the House.

Republican Frederick Rice did a little fearmongering of his own, imagining a scenario wherein an armed gunman burst into the gallery to shoot people; then Rice hyperbolically declared, "The blood of those people will be on the hands of every single person who votes to eliminate guns from this chamber."

Representative Jeanine Notter, who carries a concealed weapon on her at all times, trembled at the very thought of going to her car alone at night unprotected by her firearm, failing to grasp the fact that she did not park her car on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Honestly, at this point I think the biggest threat to the New Hampshire house is the Republicans' overly fertile imaginations. But here I thought they didn't think creatively in the slightest, so... kudos?

There is no word on whether the Republicans are planning to table a motion prohibiting credit cards from the building or banning plastic cutlery from the cafeteria.

In an odd twist, on the same day, the House voted to end New Hampshire colleges' ability to prohibit guns on campuses and in college classrooms.