August 16, 2013: The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently held that loaded means loaded when it comes to concealed handguns. Although this seems like a simple and obvious concept, it turned out to be an issue that had to be resolved by the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The criminal prosecution which produced the dispute involved a man that was charged with illegally carrying a concealed firearm without a license. The NH statute which makes it illegal to carry a concealed firearm without a license provides that it is illegal to carry a “loaded” concealed firearm without a license. The defendant (who was not licensed to carry a concealed firearm), however, was arrested when an empty firearm next to a loaded magazine was found in the glove box of his vehicle. The prosecution argued that this satisfied the requirement that the firearm be loaded, while the defendant
maintained that the law did not prohibit him from possessing the empty firearm and loaded magazine so long as the magazine was not inserted. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected the prosecution’s arguments and found that nothing in the statute supported defining “loaded” to include an empty firearm near a loaded magazine or ammunition, and that the plain meaning of “loaded” did not include such a situation. The Court also held that the prosecution’s proposed interpretation of the statute would render it unconstitutionally vague because there was nothing in the statute which would define “how near” the firearm and ammunition would need to be in order to be considered “loaded.”
In other news, Rep. Nugent (R-FL) recently introduced legislation which would universalize concealed carry rights. The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013, would permit anyone with a valid concealed carry permit issued by one state to legally carry concealed firearms in any other state. Meanwhile, Rep. Davis (D-IL), has introduced a bill which seeks to increase excise, special occupational and transfer taxes on firearms. Although both bills are still in the early stages, their potential implications on the industry, if passed, are significant.