The state Senate defeated two abortion-related bills, passed legislation making a license needed to carry a concealed gun optional and delayed action on a proposal to ban gay conversion therapy in New Hampshire.
The session lasted all day, and debate included personal appeals from lawmakers, one of whom recounted his mother’s abortion in the 1960s, and another who spoke of coming to terms with his homosexuality.
Two Senate Republicans sided with chamber Democrats to defeat bills that would collect data on women who receive medical abortions in New Hampshire and repeal a 25-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics.
The Senate deadlocked 12-12 over both proposals, before tabling them.
The state currently has a law in place that prohibits demonstrations within a 25-foot zone around health clinics that provide abortions. While it was challenged in court, a federal judge in April dismissed the lawsuit brought by Catholic nun Mary Rose Reddy and other anti-abortion protesters.
Opponents argue a repeal of the buffer zone statute protects people’s right to demonstrate and express their opinion.
“We have a right to free speech,” said Sen. David Boutin, a Hooksett Republican. “There is no evidence of violence.”
But supporters say the buffer zones maintain public safety and help protect patients and staff from harassment.
Democrat Sen. David Watters recounted a time in 1962 when his mother, who was crippled by polio, decided to get an abortion even though it wasn’t safe or legal.
Referencing the buffer zone repeal, Watters said, “I will say for my mother, no no no.”
The Senate also rejected a House-backed bill to collect annual data on the number of women who have abortions, the type of contraception the women used, their age and the gestational age of the fetus.
Opponents said the information would cost $130,000 to collect, isn’t medically necessary and could be used to intimidate women. But supporters argued New Hampshire is one of a handful of states that don’t require health care providers to report information about abortions.
Republican Sens. Jerry Little and Nancy Stiles voted against both abortion-related measures.
A license to carry a concealed gun in New Hampshire would be optional under a bill passed by the Republican-led Senate.
Along part lines, the chamber passed a measure that allows anyone who can legally possess a firearm to carry it concealed under a coat or within a purse.
The legislation is unlikely to go anywhere, however. Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan vetoed a similar bill last year.
Gun rights have been a major debate over the last few years in the Granite State.
New Hampshire is an open-carry state, meaning anyone who legally owns a gun can carry it exposed without any paperwork or license. But to carry a gun concealed, owners need to apply for a license which is granted by local police chiefs’ who determine whether an applicant is “suitable.”
Critics say the word suitable is vague and too subjective, giving chiefs wide ranging power over who can get a license. But supporters say the word ensures chiefs have discretion over the process, which they say keeps guns out of dangerous hands.
The bill strikes the word suitable and instead ensures that anyone who can legally possess a gun under state and federal law can carry a firearm concealed in New Hampshire.
Federal law prohibits felons, drug users, domestic abusers, people living in the country illegally and fugitives from possessing guns under federal law, and would therefore not be eligible for a conceal carry license under the bill. But police chiefs have raised concern that teenagers, or people who have tried to commit suicide, can possess a gun legally.
The legislation also repeals the requirement that people in the state must have a license to conceal carry.
Advocates said people who want one can still apply, and the bill would lengthen the license’s term from four to five years.
The Senate decided to punt on a bill that would ban conversion therapy in New Hampshire, a practice that seeks to change the sexual orientation of gay, lesbian and transgender minors.
The chamber will now take up the bill next week. Supporters say the state should prohibit the therapy because it is discredited by medical professionals and can be damaging to youth.
Opponents say the bill should be turned into a study commission because they worry it infringes on religious leaders’ ability to communicate with their parishioners.
Sen. David Pierce, a Lebanon Democrat, called on colleagues to pass the ban, recounting in an emotional speech his own experience coming out as gay in a religious family.
“It is a false premise that lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgener people are sometimes afflicted with a mental illness and are in need of curing,” he said. “This bill seeks to recognize that this shameful practice, discredited for 40 years now, has no place in New Hampshire.”
The Senate passed a bill Thursday that would create a specialty beer license for stores that only want to sell ales and lagers.
Right now, all stores that sell alcoholic beverages have to stock groceries as well that have a wholesale value above $3,000. Critics say the mandate is too onerous.
“This is an opportunity for stores that are already in existence to basically not have to carry sham products to comply with a grocery store mandate,” said Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley.
The bill would require that shops seeking a specialty beer license keep an inventory of 400 or more selections.
But some senators from Manchester said the legislation could lead to the closure of small corner stores that sell milk or bread in city neighborhoods, and create the potential for food voids.
“There is a very strong possibility that because grocery items are such a low-profit margin item, these stores could decide to simply turn into alcohol and tobacco stores,” said Sen. Donna Soucy, a Manchester Democrat. “I have no objection to more being alcohol sold, we encourage our liquor commission to do that. Where I do have a concern is that there will be less food products sold.”
The bill passed the Senate on a voice vote. The legislation will now go back to the House.
A school district could use taxpayer dollars to send students to nonreligious private schools, under a bill the Senate passed Thursday.
The legislation comes in response to a situation in the tiny town of Croydon. The state is challenging the schools board’s use of taxpayer dollars to send four students to the private Newport Montessori School.
Croydon’s one school educated students up until the fourth grade. Parents then have the choice to send students to other schools, with most choosing nearby Newport public schools.
The legislation approved unanimously in the Senate on Thursday would let children go to nonreligious private schools that meet state requirements and assessment standards, if there’s no public school in the district.
The Senate passed the proposal unanimously. It now goes back to the House.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report. Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or at amorris@cmonitor.com.)