| Week of July 10, 2023 |
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| Ask Governor Sununu to Protect Granite State Women and Girls HB 315 – Ask Governor Sununu to veto HB 315. Gov. Sununu can be called at (603) 271-2121, or can be contacted here. Last week, the New Hampshire House and Senate voted to pass HB 315, a bill that will put the safety of women throughout the state at risk. Unfortunately, the final wording of the bill contains deeply problematic language that will provide protection to predatory males who sexually harass and threaten women. The bill passed the House 271-98, and the Senate by a majority voice vote. Sadly, once HB 315 is signed into law, a woman on trial for murder will no longer be able to argue that she was provoked by a man’s unwanted and aggressive sexual advances. If Governor Sununu signs this bill, predatory sexual harassment will only constitute provocation if it is “forcible”—meaning the man actually lays hands on the woman. Under current law, a woman on trial for murder could point to a man’s egregious and frightening sexual advances to at least mitigate her culpability, even if these advances were not physically forcible. Once HB 315 is signed into law, however, this argument will be illegal unless the man actually used physical force as part of his sexual advance. Proponents of the bill argue that it will only be applied to straight men who kill gay men for sexually propositioning them. Yet nothing in the bill’s text says this. On the contrary, the bill creates a new, general protection for unwanted “sexual advances.” The vast majority of sexual advances are directed towards women and girls, not straight men. The imaginary scenario behind this bill—a hateful straight men executing a gay man for propositioning him—has never actually occurred in New Hampshire. This means that New Hampshire legislators have chosen to place the safety of women and girls in jeopardy solely to engage in pointless virtue-signaling and groveling to the cultural left. We urge you to contact Governor Sununu and ask him to stand up for the safety of Granite State women and girls and veto HB 315. |
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| Call Your Executive Councilor Today New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Gary Hicks will reach mandatory retirement this year, and could announce his retirement any day now. His replacement could shape the direction of all NH law for decades to come, including on critical issues such as life and religious and civil liberties. As we know, the New Hampshire judiciary can make a massive difference, for good or bad, on issues of life and liberty in New Hampshire. In one positive example, the NH Supreme Court brought about the greatest win for religious freedom in the Granite State’s history, ruling that the New Hampshire Constitution provides serious protections for religious liberty. In a negative example, the NH Superior Court found that a governor can “suspend constitutional rights,” even the rights of travel and free speech, during a gubernatorially declared state of emergency. There is reason to be concerned and alert in light of some of Sununu’s prior nominations. We urge you call your Executive Councilor and tell them to make sure Justice Hicks’ replacement is someone who will uphold the fundamental constitutional rights of life and liberty. You can find your Executive Councilor here — simply click on each Executive Councilor’s profile to view the list of towns they represent. |
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