Week of May 13, 2024 Ask Senate Committee to Vote for the Safety of Women and Girls HB 396 is needed to clarify that nothing in New Hampshire law prevents public facilities from differentiating between the biological sexes in athletic competitions, prisons, locker rooms, restrooms, or places of intimate privacy. Rather than focusing on a single area such as sports, HB 396, by acknowledging that “any person or organization, public or private” can make a common-sense classification based on biological sex, provides the most expansive framework to address the ongoing harm to vulnerable women and girls and has the greatest success of becoming law in New Hampshire. This bill also seeks to address the growing issue of young New Hampshire boys whose privacy is violated when the opposite sex uses their restrooms in schools. HB 396 simply clarifies the state’s ability to differentiate based on biological sex; it mandates nothing in terms of any policy. However, it will send a clear message that, under existing NH law, organizations are not required to permit access to intimate spaces solely based on self-proclaimed gender identity. It is vital that the Senate pass HB 396, unamended in any way, as an important first step to stop the abuse of women and girls. WHAT YOU CAN DO: It is highly likely that HB 396 will have an executive session in the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, May 14. During an executive session, the committee will vote to recommend the bill as OTP (ought to pass) or ITL (inexpedient to legislate). There is no opportunity for public testimony during this session. We urge you to contact the committee and ask them to vote OTP on the bill as is with no amendments. CONTACT THE COMMITTEE At the Senate hearing on HB 396, Granite Staters came out in strong support of of the bill, citing numerous examples of students’ privacy being eroded and girls’ safety being jeopardized by transgender bathroom policies. Check out the highlights below, and please share this video on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram to help us amplify these powerful testimonies ahead of Tuesday’s executive session! Help Safe Haven Expansion Move Forward This Week Last month, there was a public hearing in the Senate on HB 1607, relative to expanded safe haven protections. Now, the Senate has a critical opportunity to position New Hampshire as the leader in infant protections among our New England neighbors. Earlier this year, the most important part of the bill was removed on the House floor: Section 5 would have ensured parents surrendering a baby would not have to fear prosecution as a result of their surrender. It is critical and necessary to include this exclusionary provision in the expansion of safe haven law to accomplish the law’s goal which is to save lives, NOT catch criminals or deter parents from doing the right thing for their child. We know of instances where mothers have turned away from making use of the safe haven law out of a real fear of prosecution. This either leads to an increase in illegal abandonment and likelihood of infant death through malnourishment, exposure, or overdose or keeps an unwanted child in an unsafe and dangerous environment. Excluding the act of surrendering a child from being leveraged for prosecution does not preclude bringing a criminal to justice. Work must still be done to protect at-risk babies from fatal abandonment or abuse. The Senate must re-insert the Section 5 exclusionary provisions of the bill to prioritize the lives of vulnerable infants and ensure parents are not discouraged from using this safe and secure means to surrender their unwanted child. WHAT YOU CAN DO: It is highly likely that HB 1607 will have an executive session in the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, May 14. During an executive session, the committee will vote to recommend the bill as OTP (ought to pass) or ITL (inexpedient to legislate). There is no opportunity for public testimony during this session. We urge you to contact the committee and ask them to amend the bill to reinsert the exclusionary rule, and then vote OTP on the bill. CONTACT THE COMMITTEE Senate to Vote on State-Sanctioned Suicide This Week HB 1283, relative to end of life options, would implement state-sanctioned suicide for those facing an illness which a physician has predicted would be terminal within 6 months. Cornerstone strongly opposes HB 1283. It had a public hearing in the Senate HHS Committee, Wednesday, April 24, with many others also coming out in strong opposition to the bill. The bill came out of committee with a recommendation of interim study. This action, if approved by the Senate, means the actual bill is dead and will not come up for a vote. WHAT YOU CAN DO: HB 1283 will be voted on by the full Senate either Wednesday, May 15, or Thursday, May 16. We urge you to contact your senator and ask them to oppose state-sanctioned suicide by voting for the committee’s interim study recommendation or voting down the bill outright when it comes before them this week. CONTACT YOUR SENATOR |
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