There is a bill (HB1589) in the New Hampshire House today that was being discussed in committee hearings that will put more gun control laws into place in the Granite State. To push this unnecessary bill, there were out-of-state gun control advocates testifying. These people are parents of children who died in the Newtown shooting. It’s despicable to use dead children as props to push further gun control in a state where there isn’t a gun crime issue. It’s deplorable that these people believe criminals like the shooter in Newtown would actually obey their gun laws (the Mother of one admitted that the gun control bill was about ‘Social Change’). In fact, the gun laws in Connecticut worked and the shooter (who will remain nameless here) was not allowed to get a gun legally. That did not stop him from committing the heinous crime.
What this bill and these ‘advocates’ want to do is turn law-abiding citizens and gun owners into criminals. This bill will not stop criminals from getting guns illegally nor will it stop gun crimes or gun violence (both of which are very low in New Hampshire even though gun ownership is high). This bill does nothing but take away the rights of law-abiding citizens to conduct business as they have for years. The people testifying do not live in New Hampshire. They only visit when paid to by far left wing, anti-2nd Amendment organizations. They are not experts in crime nor are they experts on gun crime rates in the Granite State.
Not surprising it’s the far left wing organization Granite State Progress who has brought these people to New Hampshire. The fact they would sink so low as to bring in out-of-staters to the Granite State who will use the deaths of children by a criminal to push gun control on law-abiding citizens is beyond despicable. It also shows the type of organization they are and the people they have running it. New Hampshire does not have a gun violence or gun crime problem. What the Granite State has an out-of-state infestation of gun control hysterics who despicably use dead children as props to push laws in a state that does not need them.
A plea from the NH SenateDemocrats went out today seeking women who have been discriminated against in the workforce. They need women to back their ill-conceived ‘Paycheck Fairness Act’ (SB207) which will be discussed this coming Thursday. The bill is based on the false premise that women make only $.77 to a man’s $1.00. This has been debunked over and over again of course but that doesn’t stop Democrats from repeating the lie. The ‘Gender Pay Gap’ is a myth and has been for quite some time. Every study that Democrats push about the gap compares apples to oranges – they do not compare equal jobs or experience across the same industries. Rather they lump all jobs, experience and pay together (which means engineers and bankers are lumped in with teachers and housekeepers).
Under the Equal Pay Act, women can bring charges against their employers if they feel they have been discriminated against in their pay due to gender. In 2008 there were only 954 cases of gender pay discrimination brought to the Equal Employment Opportunity Center – of those cases 56% were found to have “No Reasonable Cause” – in other words – the EEOC could not find evidence to back up the woman’s claims. Only 7.9% of the cases were found to have “Reasonable Cause”, in which case the EEOC will fight to remedy the situation for the complainant. Of the millions of women who are in the workforce a very miniscule number have actually filed complaints against their employers. Not because they can’t file the complaints but because they do not feel they are getting discriminated against in their pay.
The Paycheck Fairness Act will do nothing but wreak havoc in the workplace. The reason employers don’t want employees discussing pay is because employees are often paid varying rates within a range for different reasons: some employees may have come from a higher paying job; some may have negotiated a higher rate; some may have more experience or certifications and many other reasons. Democrats are once again looking to ‘solve’ a problem that does not exist in New Hampshire. Women are already protected under the Equal Pay Act. What the Paycheck Fairness Act will do is force employers to think twice before hiring women because they don’t want to deal with frivolous lawsuits (SEE above).
It appears that New Hampshire Senate Democrats are pandering to women who don’t know the facts about Equal Pay. What these women don’t understand is if the Paycheck Fairness Act is passed, it will only hurt them in the short and long run. Not only is there no need for the Act but Democrats once again have not thought out the ramifications of yet another one of their ‘emotionally charged’ bills. The very people they feign to care about – women – are the very people that will be hurt by their bill. If this is an issue in the Granite State, it can be resolved at the federal level. Quite obviously it is not, which is why Democrats are desperately seeking women who have been discriminated against in the workforce.
At the Gun Rights Across America ‘Stand Your Ground’ rally in Concord today, women proved they too want their gun rights. The emcee of the event was Susan Olsen of Gun Rights Across America and two of the speakers were women: Jenn Coffey of 2nd Amendment Sisters and Donna Deluca Murphy of 1 Million Moms Against Gun Control. There were many women also in attendance. These women defy the false narrative of the anti-2nd Amendment crowd across the Granite State and the country that often portray those who believe in their Constitutional Right as males (often as extremists or rednecks but always males).
The rally was held on the steps of the state house where many Democrats are pushing legislation to further curb New Hampshire residents’ lawful gun rights. This is the same place where Democrats pushed to end Stand Your Ground laws – the ability to protect oneself if in danger whether inside your domicile or in public. For some reason Democrats prefer women become victims rather than protect themselves. Keeping in line with the ‘man’ pro-2nd Amendment mantra, even Concord Patch didn’t post any photos of the women speakers in their report on the rally (apparently it was the photographer’s choice not to send in any photos of the women speakers, not the editor’s choice to keep them out of the slideshow).
As Democrats push for anti-2nd Amendment legislation in the Granite State and across the country, more and more women are becoming involved in the fight for their rights. In March of last year this author published an article regarding the ‘War on Women’ gun control advocates are waging:
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that proves women can protect themselves from assailants if they have a gun. There is also plenty that shows what happens to women when they don’t have a gun to protect themselves – they become statistics. As more women choose to become gun owners in order to protect themselves, it’s clear that they are fighting to avoid becoming victims. Women are empowering themselves by protecting themselves.
Americans have the right to protect themselves using a gun if they so desire. Americans have the right to own a gun if they desire. As more legislation comes out that seeks to curb a woman’s right to choose how to protect herself, you are going to see more and more women fighting to keep that choice. The Stand Your Ground rally at the state house was just one example of many to come.
NOTE: There were many excellent speakers at the rally including Reps Al Baldasaro and John Hikel; Gary Lambert (candidate for NH02); Chris Smart of Gun Rights Across America; Ben Sarro of WNTK and others. This article is written to show the women involved because so few others will.
New Hampshire’s District 01 Representative Carol Shea-Porter finally held her first town hall since being elected. The problem is attendance had to be requested; the venue was small and constituents had to submit their questions. This was not a ‘town hall’. This was Democrat Shea-Porter pretending to hold a town hall so she could say she held one. With all of the unanswered questions about Obamacare and how it has hurt many Granite Staters who lost their insurance plans; doctors and hospitals they can use, it’s egregious that Shea-Porter chose to cower in a corporate-owned venue which also didn’t allow protesters outside.
In a news release from ‘Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire’, Derek Dufresne explains why Shea-Porter’s town hall was indeed no town hall:
(January 11, 2014) – This morning, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter hosted what she called a “town hall meeting” in Dover at Maple Suites Senior Living Community. Sadly though, the event was anything but a public forum. Instead, it was a scripted, tightly-controlled event where she made sure to avoid those who might disagree with her.
Derek Dufresne, spokesman for Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire, released the following statement:
While we were hopeful this morning that Rep. Carol Shea-Porter would finally be hosting her first town hall meeting, today’s event was no public forum. In order to attend the event, individuals were told they needed to pre-register themselves and the questions they planned on asking. At the meeting itself, video cameras were not allowed inside. This is disheartening both for transparency purposes and for anyone who couldn’t attend the event especially considering the dangerous driving conditions caused by today’s bad weather. Furthermore, those protesting outside were forced to leave the premises because it was against the ‘corporate policies’ of the venue her meeting was held at.
Granite Staters deserve a representative who cares about the opinions of all her constituents and allows for real town hall meetings where all views can be expressed. Once again, we still await to hear from Rep. Carol Shea-Porter on when she will actually hold her first real town hall meeting. Granite Staters deserve better.”
If Shea-Porter cannot defend her vote for Obamacare along with her lies that people wouldn’t lose their plans, maybe she should re-think her vote in support of it against the majority of what her constituents wanted. There is no excuse for Shea-Porter demanding that questions be submitted ahead of time so her team could script the answers. Granite Staters deserve to be heard and deserve answers to the many questions they have about Obamacare. When Shea-Porter denies her constituents the ability to do this, she is proving to New Hampshire that she doesn’t deserve to hold the District 01 seat. Shea-Porter owes her constituents a real town hall so that they can get real answers to a real problem that she and her fellow Democrats created.
Statistics and figures are not the Democrats’ friends. While they push to extend unemployment benefits yet again to the long-term unemployed, they fail to grasp that it is their own policies that are keeping these people unemployed. From the almost trillion dollar shovel-ready job stimulus that was thrust upon this country by Democrats ( including New Hampshire’s own Senator Shaheen and Representative Carol Shea-Porter) that failed to being insane enough to believe unemployment benefits create jobs, Democrats have failed on every level to produce (If unemployment benefits actually created jobs, our economy would be booming because we’ve had such long term unemployment). There are millions of people who are unemployed, under-employed, jumped ship to disability insurance or are just not working at all because they have given up and it’s thanks to Democrat policies that are killing jobs and hurting the economy.
Some facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
The Labor Force Participation Rate is only 63% – Down from 65.7% when President Obama took office In 2009. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/6/14)
There are 762,000 Discouraged Workersin the U.S. who, despite wanting a job, are not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/6/14)
There were 734,000 Discouraged Workers when Obama took office in January 2009. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/6/14)
There Are 7.7 Million Americans who are currently working part-time only because they cannot find full-time employment. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
27% of Unemployed Americans who have been unemployed for a year or more – Up From 11% when Obama took office in 2009. (BLS, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
The “Real” Unemployment Rate, including those who have given up looking for work or are involuntarily working part-time is 11% in New Hampshire alone! (BLS, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
The Real Unemployment Rate in New Hampshire Was 8.7% when Shaheen took office in 2009. (BLS, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
Obama, Senator Shaheen and Carol Shea-Porter claim they care about workers, jobs and the economy yet it is policies they have put into place that have continued the long cycle of unemployment across the U.S. and in New Hampshire. Today they are pushing to extend unemployment benefits to the tune of $26 billion. Rather than address the issues that cause long-term unemployment, they continue to create it. Democrats have had 6 years to turn the economy around and they haven’t. Neither Obama, Shaheen nor Shea-Porter will ever admit failure but the unemployment signs in this country have certainly proven exactly that.
The House released the Medicaid Expansion bill HB544 yesterday that they are desperately pushing to pass as soon as possible this year. The expansion is 100% fully funded for the first 3 years by federal funds (via Obamacare) then in phases down to only being 90% funded by 2020. That leaves New Hampshire residents/taxpayers with a hefty $18,250,000 or more added to the annual budget. What have the Democrats come up with to pay for this huge difference? Not a thing. The plan is to ‘terminate’ the program when this funding is no longer 100%. Name one Democrat who has ever terminated a government handout program? As a matter of fact, no Republicans probably have either.
The state legislature is doing nothing but pushing a future tax increase onto the people of New Hampshire but not being honest and telling them that. How can they possibly believe passing Medicaid Expansion without a solid plan to pay for it is a good idea? On top of it Speaker of the House Terri Norellli (D-Portsmouth) has decided not to hold any public hearings on this bill. It’s reminiscent of the way National Democrats like Senator Shaheen and Representative Shea-Porter voted for Obamacare with not one Republican vote and despite the majority of their constituents wanting them to vote ‘NAY’.
House Republican Leader Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett) shot back at Norelli in a release:
House Democrats have again chosen to ram this significant policy change through with little or no debate. This is one of, if not the largest expansion of a government entitlement program the New Hampshire legislature has ever faced. Attaching such an expansive piece of legislation to an unrelated bill is not the right way to approach any issue, much less something of this scale. On Wednesday, the House will be asked to vote on an amendment we haven’t even seen or been able to review. There will be no public hearing or opportunity for public input. It’s unfair to our Representatives and to our constituents. This is not how we should do things in New Hampshire.
Every Granite Stater should be aware of this massive increase to future budgets. Not one legislator should vote for the Medicaid Expansion until they tell taxpayers exactly how they will be expected to pay for it – will it be a sales tax; income tax; increased property taxes; increased fees? Constituents deserve to know the full implications of huge government programs their representatives want to put into place.
Granite State Independent 