New Hampshire –-(Ammoland.com)- Lies.
You have probably seen and heard many this campaign season.
Unfortunately, I have to tell you about another one currently being spread.
Imagine my shock, just as we are preparing to publish our grades(now available on our website), a report that the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition endorsed Ovide Lamontagne surfaces.
Knowing that nothing could be further from the truth, I could hardly believe such a report.
First, NHFC doesn’t endorse any candidates. We simply provide you with an objective measure of a candidate’s stand on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Second, despite his claims of being pro-gun, Ovide Lamontagne has a history of opposing the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
You see, when Ovide was on the state board of education he went before the legislature to ask them to pass a so-called “gun-free school zones” bill.
You and I both know that “gun-free zones” don’t work and only serve to make defenseless victims for criminals to prey on.
That is why I continue to be appalled at Ovide’s persistent defense of that failed principle.
But what is worse, the bill Ovide supported could have made virtually the entire state into a “gun-free school zone.”
Not only does Ovide continue to defend his support for that bill, on the grounds that a republican legislature and Governor eventually passed a water-down, but still bad, version of that bill, but Ovide also pledges to oppose ending the NH University System’s illegal and unconstitutional ban on firearms on campus.
You may be wondering how a candidate that has publicly pledged to sign Constitutional Carry could take such anti-firearms stances.
Unfortunately, Ovide is a consummate politician and he has learned to camouflage his true intention.
You see, virtually every time Ovide Lamontagne says he will support Constitutional Carry, he limits that support to a bill with “proper conditions”.
You and I both know those are weasel words.
Ovide is willing to let you carry without a license, but only when and where the Government chooses to let you.
I wish that was it. Unfortunately, Ovide has also pledged to oppose the legislation, like the bill passed by the House this year, that would repeal the law that effectively bans backyard shooting ranges across much of the state.
As we reported earlier this year, state law bans shooting within the “compact part” of a city or town, which is ludicrously defined as any area with 6 or more houses within 300 feet of each other.
Under this law, you could have hundreds, or even thousands, of acres of undeveloped land behind your house, but if you have five neighbors whose houses are close to yours along the street, you can’t shoot in your backyard when it is perfectly safe to do so.
You can’t even set up a .22 range in your basement, even if you take all the appropriate precautions.
And Ovide Lamontagne is just fine with that.
What is more, Ovide has refused to pledge to make sure every judge and state agency head he nominates will respect the Right to Bear Arms.
Imagine, commissioners banning carry in state buildings, the state police changing the pistol license application into a draconian nightmare, an environmental services commissioner attempting to close shooting ranges as “environmental hazards”, and, to top it off, judges whose lack of respect for the Second Amendment will have them clamoring to uphold those actions.
All those could happen because Ovide won’t make sure his nominees are in full support of your Right to Bear Arms.
You may be wondering if it could get any worse.
It can.
Four years ago, Ovide even endorsed notorious gun-banner Mitt Romney during the presidential primary.
That is why, far from having endorsed him, we graded Ovide Lamontagne as a “D+” on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
With all that Ovide has done or pledged to do against firearms owners, you might wonder where someone would get the idea that NHFC would endorse Ovide Lamontagne for Governor.
According to Kevin Landrigan, the Nashua Telegraph reporter who wrote the article where the claim first appeared (the story has since been edited to remove the false claim), the claim that we endorsed Ovide came directly from Ovide’s campaign.
Ovide knows that he needs the support of firearms owners and that his record on firearms is suspect at best.
But, that is also why I am furious that Ovide’s campaign tried to appropriate the name of the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition to bolster his false claim of being pro-gun.
That is just totally unacceptable.
That is why I need you to call or email Ovide’s campaign (603-668-2012 / [email protected]), demanding that he stop trying to deceive gun owners. Tell Ovide you want full, real support for the Right to Bear Arms, not a ploy to get your vote.
Insist that Ovide pledge today to unconditionally support Constitutional Carry, Campus Carry, and ending the backyard shooting range ban and the so-called “gun-free school zones” law.
Finally tell Ovide you expect him to pledge to make support of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms a test for all his nominees, both judges, and department heads. In Liberty,Jonathan R Evans
Jonathan R. Evans, Esq.
President – NHFC
P.S. The report that NHFC endorsed Ovide Lamontagne is simply false. Ovide has a history of opposing the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. That is why NHFC has given him a “D+”.
P.P.S. NHFC has now released our primary election grades, please take the time to review them to find out where the candidates stand on your Right to Bear Arms.
About New Hampshire Firearms Coalition
The New Hampshire Firearms Coalition is New Hampshire’s only No Compromise Gun Rights Organization. While many so-called “gun rights groups” work to curry favor with politicians and the media, NHFC is working aggressively to hold politicians accountable and to put a stop to gun control. Visit: www.nhfc-ontarget.org
