Bill Review System and Training

Thank you to all who attended the first two Bill Review training sessions this month. There were over 35 people who participated—our volunteer base, and your influence in Concord, are growing!

There are two more Bill Review training events currently scheduled. The next training/refresher session will be on Sunday, December 27 in Epsom at the home of Dan and Carol McGuire, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Denis Goddard will host a training session in Hopkinton on Sunday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m.

Veteran reviewers and first-timers alike are encouraged to attend. It is advisable to attend more than one class if possible. Email chair@nhliberty.org for more details or to sign up for one of these (free) training sessions.

More classes may be added; check the NHLA calendar periodically (http://calendar.nhliberty.org/).

Kudos and thanks to Jeremy Olson for his efforts in updating the Bill Review System on our website.

NHLA/Amazon.com Affiliation

Just in time for your holiday shopping, we’ve expanded our recommended books and videos list to help you build your liberty library and share the message of freedom with friends and family. Also, the NHLA is now an Amazon.com affiliate. Once you click on our link, every Amazon order will make a contribution to the NHLA. Help support the NHLA and push liberty forward in 2010!

http://www.nhliberty.org/books_and_videos

Membership Updates

For the past several months, NHLA board members Michelle Levell and Jeremy Olson have been updating our membership database in order to better serve you. During the process, we have noticed that many user accounts are missing a complete name, mailing address, or both. We are asking all members to please take a moment and update your information this week, so that we can help keep you informed with the latest liberty news and events in New Hampshire.

To update your information, please go to http://www.nhliberty.org/ and log in, click on My Account, and update. It’s that simple. Thank you for your cooperation.

P.A.C. Fund

With the 2010 elections only ten months away, now is the time to think about donating to the NHLA Political Action Committee (P.A.C.) Fund. The fund is one of the best ways you can help support pro-liberty candidates running for office next year—providing their campaigns with needed resources to purchase materials, signs, literature, etc. to help get them elected.

2010 is a critical year for New Hampshire. With the current legislature increasing state spending at a record pace and continually attacking your freedoms, we need to send a clear message that our liberty is not theirs for the taking. So please DONATE what you can. Every little bit helps.

Liberty Forum

The NHLA is gearing up for participation in the 2010 Liberty Forum scheduled for March 18-21, 2010. This year’s event promises to be a spectacular engagement, as usual. Friday night’s keynote speaker is Judge Andrew Napolitano of Fox News’ Freedom Watch.

We are currently looking for volunteers to man the NHLA table at the event on Friday and Saturday. If you are interested in volunteering an hour or two of your time, please email Mark Warden at chair@nhliberty.org for more information.

Other Activism

For anyone who is passionate about preserving gun rights in New Hampshire, below is a list of some of the pro-liberty gun groups you may want to get involved with.

• Second Amendment Sisters, Inc. is a national women’s advocacy group dedicated to preserving the basic human right of self-defense, as recognized by the Second Amendment. They believe in personal responsibility, education, and enforcement of laws against violent criminals. As demonstrated in the knife rights legislation proposed in N.H. by their National Coordinator and member of the Board of Directors, a NHLA member, and N.H. State Representative Jenn Coffey. To learn more, visit http://www.2asisters.org/, and to learn more about the legislation, visit http://www.knifelawonline.com/.
• Gun Owners of New Hampshire, Inc. (GONH) is the NRA State Affiliate Organization for N.H. Two of their objectives, as stated in their official charter, are to 1) Preserve, defend and protect the right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and by the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire, and 2) Educate, inform, and alert the public on matters affecting firearms policy and legislation. To learn more, visit http://gonh.org/.
• Pro-Gun New Hampshire is a statewide organization of legislators, other public officials, and private citizens pledged to support and defend Second Amendment and sportsmen’s rights within the state of New Hampshire. Their focus is on influencing state legislation through the personal relationships, honorable reputations, and mature conduct of their leadership and members. To learn more, visit http://www.pgnh.org/about.
• Pink Pistols is an international shooting group that honors diversity and is open to all shooters. They help bring new shooters into the sport and provide a fun social environment for all our members. They work to build bridges between the shooting community and other communities, such as those based on alternative sexualities. To learn more, visit http://pinkpistols.org/.

Special Elections

There are three specials elections on January 12, 2010. The NHLA board of directors has endorsed some of the candidates. We encourage you to support these pro-liberty candidates.

GENERAL ELECTION — Rockingham District 8 (Kingston, Hampstead, and Plaistow) for State Representative. Voters will choose between Democrat Norman R. Hurley of Kingston and NHLA-endorsed Republican Kenneth L. Weyler of Kingston to fill an empty House seat.

GENERAL ELECTION — Sullivan County District 2 (Croydon, Goshen, Newport, Springfield, and Washington) for State Representative. Voters will choose between Democrat Peter Franklin and NHLA-endorsed Republican “Steve” Cunningham of Croydon who submitted the NHLA’s candidate survey and earned a perfect 100 score on our pro-liberty scale.

PRIMARY ELECTION — State Senate District 16 (Bow, Candia, Dunbarton, Hooksett, Manchester Wards 1, 2, and 12) for Ted Gatsas’ Senate seat. Voters will choose between Republicans “Terry” Pfaff of Hooksett and NHLA-endorsed David R. Boutin of Hooksett to see who will advance to the general election. Democrat “Jeff” Goley of Manchester is running uncontested and Independent Joseph “JR” Hoell of Dunbarton, who submitted the NHLA’s candidate survey and earned a perfect 100 score on our pro-liberty scale, still needs to finish petitioning to be on the ballot. The general election for this race is on February 16^th.

There is a fourth special election in Coos County District 2. Candidates need to file this week December 21–28, 2009 to be eligible for the primary election on February 2^nd and general election March 9^th. Stay tuned to the NHLA calendar for updates in this race.

Endorsements are based on candidate surveys and/or Liberty Rating scores from previous House incumbency voting records. Surveys have been mailed to the other candidates, but not returned by the date of this newsletter. For more discussion on these elections and candidates, visit the forum board at http://forum.nhliberty.org/index.php?topic=2664.0.

Change of Board Members

At our last board meeting, Dawn Lincoln stepped down as Chair after three years of outstanding service. Thank you, Dawn, for all your valuable time and energy you gave to the NHLA in pursuit of advancing liberty in New Hampshire!

Mark Warden will serve as interim Chair until officer elections in September. The board unanimously appointed Sandy Pierre to replace Mark as Vice Chair. Welcome, Sandy!

Proposed Bylaw Change Motioned

At the December 10^th NHLA board meeting, a motion to amend article 7.1 of the NHLA Bylaws was made, seconded, and passed by the board. This change does not become effective until the board has an opportunity to vote on the amendment for a second time. If the proposed amendment is passed at the next board meeting as worded, the updated article will be enacted immediately and the bylaws will be amended. The proposed bylaw change is (marked in bold):

7.1 These Bylaws may be amended with the approval of four-fifths of the Directors, provided that at a prior meeting such amendments were approved by a majority of the Directors, and these amendments were distributed to all Directors for review, and made available to the members on the website and in an email newsletter, in the interim between meetings.