Welcome New Members!

The NHLA is a lot bigger now! We’ve literally doubled our membership since February 13 when Rep. Dan Itse appeared on the Glenn Beck show. So welcome to our new members, and thank you for helping us fight for liberty in New Hampshire! We normally send out this newsletter once a month, but you can always visit our website at http://www.nhliberty.org/ to get the latest news about the organization. We also encourage you to update your profile, under “My account” after you log in. The mailing address is optional of course, but it’s a good way to stay informed, since we plan to send out mailers for certain big events like our Liberty Dinner.

One way you can help out right away is by donating to our PAC. We spent a lot of money last year helping to get liberty-friendly candidates elected, and we need donations to replenish the PAC fund. Visit http://www.nhliberty.org/donate to donate by credit card, PayPal or check. For those who have already donated, thank you so much!

A lot of our new members are from out-of-state. Have you thought about moving to New Hampshire and getting involved? The Free State Project is an organization that encourages liberty-minded folks to relocate here, and offers resources to help with the move. It’s how many of us ended up here. Visit http://www.freestateproject.org/ for more information.

Fight the Seat Belt Bill!

HB383 is a bill that would make seat belts mandatory, removing New Hampshire’s distinction as the only state left that doesn’t require seat belts for adult drivers. Over the next couple of weekends, we plan to hit several senate districts with flyers encouraging constituents to ask their senator to oppose this bill. Please visit http://www.nhliberty.org/forum/index.php?topic=2076.0 if you’d like to help with this effort.

Elections for Secretary and Vice Chair

We’ll be holding elections in April for two board positions: Secretary and Vice Chair. If you’d like to nominate someone for either position, please email chair@nhliberty.org by April 6th. The election will be held online sometime later in April.

Bill Reviewers

Crossover day is coming up on April 9. This is the day when house bills are sent over to the senate, and vice versa. Many of the bills will have amendments, which may significantly change their effect, so they’ll need to be reviewed again. If you’d like to help review some bills, please contact Jeremy at research@nhliberty.org.

Etiquette at the State House

When testifying at the New Hampshire State House with the NHLA and learning to be a liberty advocate, proper decorum is very important. After all, as an advocate you are trying to influence the Legislature and convince the members to see an issue your way. To do this, you must be taken seriously. Until you are well known to your target audience, this means that you should use every means possible to increase your appearance of influence.

Behaving as if you belong there is an easy and effective way to seem more influential. Learn where the various rooms are, sign in with assurance (bring a pen!) and act confident. Use the proper forms of address: Madam Chair, Mr. Chairman, Representative [last name], Honorable Committee. Under no circumstances use hostile, sarcastic, or profane language. If you have written testimony, bring twenty copies if possible. When referring to specific elements of the bill, have a copy and mention the line numbers. All of these behaviors let the committee know that you are familiar with the Legislature, you know what you are talking about, and that your testimony should be taken seriously.

Be aware of your appearance, and how others perceive you. Jacket and tie, or equivalent, gives you a step up. Offensive T-shirts and camo are a definite step down. Good grooming should be taken for granted. Be prepared with paper and pens, calendars and such. Mute your cell phone. Visible weapons can be distracting, so think about whether you should be carrying concealed or whether the visible weapon is part of the point you are trying to make. Remember, the committee chair has full control over the committee room and hearing. If the chair finds open carrying to be distracting or intimidating, the chair has full authority to ask you to leave the room, leaving you no opportunity to testify.

Another element of decorum is that emotion should be controlled. One reason for the formality is that it allows people to work together while holding opposite views on the subject under discussion, even while planning a floor fight of impassioned speeches against each other. Keep cool; if you show strong emotion at least some people in your audience will be embarrassed, and then they will forget most of what you had to say. Testifying before a committee is an intimate experience, and you don’t need a lot of emotion to make an impact.