Cyberflashing, Trigger Locks, and 1st Amendment Issues
Last week was a busy one for the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. In a marathon 19 bill executive session, we gave the green light to one bill that would outlaw “cyberflashing” and another that would reduce the harshest penalties for certain drug crimes. Sadly, we also hit the stop button on a bill that would have required locking safety devices to be included in all commercial firearms sales. Here’s a quick wrap-up.
HB1641 received an Ought to Pass recommendation by an 18-2 vote. This bill pares back some of the more extreme sentences for certain drug crimes and recognizes that we can’t incarcerate our way out of a crisis. Some of the more severe drug sentences are reduced without affecting the deservedly harsh sentences reserved for drug kingpins. I supported the bill not out of leniency, but after hearing compelling testimony that excessive sentences do not increase deterrence, make rehabilitation more likely, or reduce drug use or sales.
HB1141 makes it crime to send an image of one’s genitals or other private semi-unmentionable areas to another person without their consent. Dubbed the “cyberflashing” law, the bill passed unanimously by a 20-0 vote after an amendment suggested by the ACLU. It makes a first offense a violation and a second offense a misdemeanor.
HB1656 also received a strong, unanimous Ought to Pass recommendation after an amendment that addressed some technical issues. This bill would give sex workers immunity from arrest or prosecution for prostitution when seeking medical assistance, or when reporting certain crimes, such as sexual assaults. Currently, these crimes are seldom reported because victims fear prosecution.
HB1529 received a unanimous 20-0 recommendation of Inexpedient to Legislate. It would have required New Hampshire news organizations to withhold the name of a person accused of mass murder for 45 days. While the intent of the bill was to avoid the glorification of the people who commit these crimes, representatives of the NH Press Association told us that in addition to violating freedom of the press, it would likely have had the unintentional effect of creating a second news cycle when the name of the perpetrator was released. Moreover, because media outlets outside New Hampshire would have no such restrictions—and are readily accessible online or on cable TV—the law would have no realistic impact.
HB1350 received an unfortunate Inexpedient to Legislate recommendation by a 13-7 vote. I was the prime sponsor of this bill and I filed it in an effort to close an important gap in our gun laws and in child safety. Under federal law, firearms manufacturers are required to include a locking safety device with all new firearms sold commercially. But there is no requirement to include a locking safety device when previously owned firearms are sold in gun shops, gun shows, and online. With an estimated 350 million firearms now in circulation across the US, this bill simply makes it easier for every person purchasing a firearm in New Hampshire to walk away from the sale with a safety device costing as little as $6. Safety devices such as cable locks, trigger locks, and gun safes reduce and, in most cases, eliminate the risk of a child or mentally ill family member inadvertently accessing and discharging an unsecured weapon or using that weapon to commit a crime or to commit suicide. Owning and employing these devices also reduces the risk of a firearms owner from burdened with the consequences of an unspeakable tragedy along with a negligence charge. Tragically, on the same day members of the Committee recommended killing the bill, a 17-year old child in Concord took his own life with a firearm. Incidents like these are a constant reminder that our gun laws, as the governor continually claims, “are good enough.” (See my written testimony on this bill at the end of this post).
The committee also decided that more work was needed on several bills before we could act on them. Among them were HB1159, which would establish a criminal penalty for cyberstalking, cyberbullying or doxxing a public servant, and HB1283, which would make it a crime to recklessly or negligently disclose another person's personally identifiable information without consent and with the intent to harass or intimidate. While I have deep concerns with both bills (as expressed in an earlier post), the problem of online harassment is a serious issue that deserves a closer look. I’ll be chairing a subcommittee that will be meeting at 9:30am on Thursday in LOB 204 to discuss both bills.
Meuse Testimony: HB1350
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for your time and interest this morning.
HB1350 is a simple bill with a simple goal: to reduce the risk of a child or a mentally ill family member from being killed, injured—or killing or injuring someone else—using an unsecured firearm found in their own home or in the home of a friend.
Most of us are aware of the situation last year where an 11-year old Alton boy gained access to an unsecured firearm he allegedly used to shoot his parents. We’ve also read news stories in New Hampshire and elsewhere about accidental shootings involving children playing with unsecured firearms.
This year, a study in the medical journal Pediatrics said incidents involving guns are estimated to be the third-leading cause of injury-related death among American children 17 and under. Every day, 78 children, teens and young adults are injured or killed by guns, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports, citing information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Each day in America, 8 children and teens are injured or killed in shootings involving an improperly stored or misused gun found in the home. 2 are injured or killed attempting suicide with a firearm.
Equally alarming, 38% of firearm-related deaths in the age 19 and under age group are suicides. In New Hampshire, suicides among teens and young adults more than tripled over a 10-year span – from 12 deaths in 2006 to 38 in 2017 – by far the greatest increase among all age groups.
Incidents involving suicide or children are often kept confidential by law enforcement or go unreported with cooperation of the media. While this means the privacy of minors and their families is protected, it also means New Hampshire statistics are hard to come by. The Department of Safety has told me it doesn’t collect or report this data in a centralized way.
The good news is that firearms manufacturers now recognize the danger of unsecured firearms and now include cable locking safety devices with new weapons. Project Childsafe allows existing gun owners to pick up a free Child Safety Kit, including a cable lock, at participating police departments. Meanwhile, many firearms dealers and range owners in New Hampshire have embraced The Gun Shop Project—which helps gun shop owners identify customers who may be at risk of suicide and provides information on safe storage.
While all of these efforts are admirable and have made a difference, this fact remains. It’s still possible to purchase a gun in NH and to take it home without a locking safety device. What this bill would do is make the inclusion of an approved safety device costing at little as $10 a requirement for most gun sales instead of an option. It would require New Hampshire manufacturers of firearms, licensed firearms dealers, and sellers at gun shows to include an approved firearms safety device as part of most firearms sales and transfers taking place in New Hampshire. The bill includes sensible exemptions for smart guns—which can only be activated by their owner—and antique firearms. In addition to trigger and cable locks, eligible locking safety devices include lock boxes, gun safes, and personalized hybrid devices built to hold a gun securely in a holster-like fixture that can only be released when the owner triggers a biometric sensor.
The bill recognizes that no dealer can stock an infinite array of devices and that different gun owners will have different requirements, different spending price points, and different consumer preferences. That’s why the bill has a “bring-your-own” provision. This allows the buyer to bring an approved, unused safety device to the sale in its unopened original packaging instead of purchasing one from the seller. While this doesn’t eliminate the possibility of the same device being brought to multiple sales, it reduces the possibility. The bill also requests the Department of Safety to create a list of approved safety devices. The intent behind this is to eliminate devices that are unsafe or that can easily defeated by a child. 5 of the 11 state with laws similar to HB1350 have a similar requirement and California already provides a searchable list online. However, if the Department of Safety objects to this requirement because of time or cost issues, I would not oppose an amendment removing this provision of the bill.
I’m not a gun owner but I do own a bicycle, so I’m very much aware that when I have to leave my bike outside a store, even a cheap flimsy lock is a better deterrent than no lock at all because it deters someone acting on opportunity and impulse. In the same way, any locking safety device for a firearm is better than no device at all. The bottom line is this a child safety issue that we can and should do something about. Nobody’s firearms are taken away. Nobody’s right to purchase a gun is taken away. Nobody’s purchase is delayed or inconvenienced. Please give HB1350 an Ought to Pass recommendation.