'Come Clean, Step Down'

Those attending an "Honor Your Oath" rally at the Statehouse on April 13 cheered a proposed constitutional maneuver to try to oust 189 state representatives who voted for repealing the state's Stand Your Ground law.

Reps. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry, John Hikel,R-Goffstown, and Lenette Peterson, R-Merrimack, filed the petition with the House clerk last week. It says, essentially, that the 189 didn't honor their oath when it came to House Bill 135, the Stand Your Ground law.

House Majority Leader Steve Shurtleff, D-Penacook, the sponsor of the bill, noted Saturday the House members are entitled to file the petition. In an email responding to a press question, Shurtleff said, "But all the HB 135 does is return NH to our self-defense law that was in effect from 1977 to 2011. The constitutionality of that law was never challenged."

The Senate introduced HB 135 on March 28 and referred it to the Judiciary Committee. A hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Jack Kimball, of the Granite State Patriots Liberty PAC, began organizing the rally before the House voted on the bill. Kimball, a past chairman of the Republican State Committee, warned gun owners against complacency and he warned any loss of constitutional rights would eventually turn into gun confiscation.