Advocates for safe gun laws in the Granite State gave several hours of public testimony Wednesday, regarding a package of firearms-related bills moving through House committees.

Many of those who testified are supporting bills to close background-check loopholes, create a waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a gun, and keep guns out of schools.

Rep. Loren Selig, D-Durham, said it comes down to common sense.

"The number of bills that we have that are actually supported by 90% of gun owners is high," Selig pointed out. "Legislators need to listen to people other than just the NRA about how to make decisions."

Selig and others are also pushing for lawmakers to pass the bipartisan extreme-risk protection order, which temporarily restricts access to guns for individuals at risk of harming themselves or others. Suicide makes up 88% of gun deaths in New Hampshire compared with 57% nationally.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed a law in 2017 eliminating the need to apply for a permit to carry a concealed firearm in New Hampshire.

Since then, Sununu has vetoed most gun-related bills, arguing they would violate the state's "culture of responsible gun ownership and individual freedom."

Zandra Rice Hawkins, director of GunSense NH, a project of Granite State Progress and a member of the NH Gun Violence Prevention Coalition, said very basic laws would improve public safety.

"Advocates were out here today because we believe that enough is enough," Rice Hawkins emphasized. "We should be able to walk down our streets, go to our schools, without having to worry about gun violence."

Rice Hawkins said as the five-year anniversary of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, approaches, lawmakers can help prevent a similar tragedy from happening in New Hampshire.

As the Pennsylvania House reconvenes this week, lawmakers will focus on regulating 3D-printed ghost guns.

These untraceable firearms, like the one allegedly used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, complicate criminal investigations.

For the third time, state Rep. Melissa Shusterman said she plans to introduce legislation aimed at classifying 3D-printed firearms as standard firearms under Pennsylvania's laws and regulations, and require 3D printer owners to be licensed as manufacturers.

The Chester Democrat said she's already circulated a memo to colleagues, and said she's hopeful action will be taken for the bill.

"We are waiting to get any additional feedback," said Shusterman. "With every two years, my legislation needs to be tweaked and updated, to hone in on exactly how to create a piece of legislation that'd work for our manufacturers, work for our law enforcement, works within the law."

Pennsylvania State Police data reveal a doubling of ghost gun seizures by law enforcement in 2023 compared to 2022.

Shusterman added that a bill to ban ghost-gun kits passed the House last session with bipartisan support, but stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, said his group helped craft the bipartisan ghost-gun bill passed by the Pennsylvania House.

He warned that these firearms, easily assembled from online parts without background checks, have been seen in the state in the last few years.

"A lot of the violence we saw rising in cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg and York, was being driven by ghost guns," said Garber. "Police were recovering them at a higher rate - again, because they escape our gun safety laws."

Garber added that the Biden administration announced a new federal rule to require 3D-printed guns be treated like any other gun and require background checks.

He added that there is now concern that a future administration could reverse this, making them a preferred weapon for violent crime once again.



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CORRECTION: The next stop for the exhibit is the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, not the Detroit Institute of Arts. (1:30 p.m. MDT, Jan. 6, 2025)

A gun violence memorial now on view in Boston aims to reveal the personal lives behind the statistics.

The exhibit was designed in 2019 and includes four small houses, each built with 700 glass bricks to symbolize the average number of people killed weekly by guns in America. The statistic climbed to more than 800 people per week in 2024.

Maggie Stern, project manager for the architecture firm MASS Design Group, said each brick contains something personal from the victims.

"You might encounter baby shoes, graduation tassels, a basketball," Stern outlined. "Things that family members have donated that really speak to who the loved one was that they lost."

The Gun Violence Memorial Project remains on view through Jan. 20 at three locations in Boston, including City Hall, the Institute of Contemporary Art and the MASS Design Group gallery.

Stern emphasized the goal of the memorial was to show the enormity of the gun-violence epidemic while honoring the individual lives taken. More than half of U.S. adults now say they or a family member has experienced some form of gun violence. She hopes people use the memorial and the personal items it contains to reflect on the loss but also feel inspired to take action.

"We hope that where the memorial travels and how the memorial grows, its impact will really be driven by the communities who are leading the charge to end the gun-violence epidemic," Stern stressed.

Stern noted the memorial will travel this spring to the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. She added designers and the community groups they work with continue to collect personal objects of loved ones to add to the exhibit with the hope of finding a permanent home for the memorial in Washington, D.C.

As the new year begins, state lawmakers and officials will continue to grapple with how to prevent school shootings, like the one just two weeks ago in Madison.

While Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has called for a "holistic approach" to prevent such incidents, gun violence prevention advocates said prevention starts with stronger gun laws.

Lindsay Nicols, policy director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said the state could require universal background checks for gun purchases or raise the age for gun possession.

"We know that some of these shooters are young people themselves, and there are plenty of policies, for example, to keep guns out of the hands of youth," Nicols pointed out. "These are laws that some states have passed and some haven't, so we need action from our lawmakers to prevent, and protect our kids."

She noted other options are to pass a "red flag" law, or strengthen legislation on firearms storage. Giffords ranks states on a scorecard for their gun laws every year. Wisconsin most recently received a "C" grade.

Giffords' yearly analysis also compares states' gun laws with their fatal outcomes. Nicols emphasized time and again, they have found the stronger a state's gun laws, the lower its gun death rate, and the weaker the laws, the higher the gun death rate.

"We know that these gun laws work," Nicols contended. "There really is no reason why legislators shouldn't be taking action to prevent these tragedies."

While Wisconsin has enacted basic gun safety laws, she argued the state could also pass bans on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines or lengthen the waiting period for a firearms purchase. Despite public pressure for new gun safety laws in 2020, Wisconsin has not passed any significant gun legislation in years. Democrats have tried unsuccessfully to introduce at least 30 gun safety measures since 2019.


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