GOP Leaders Host Gun Safety Training Session For House Members

By: Evan Lips | NH Journal | April 29, 2025

ith great power — or a concealed weapon — comes great responsibility.

Which is why the New Hampshire House held a bipartisan training session Tuesday for lawmakers who, unlike every other New England state, are free to walk the halls of the chamber armed if they choose.

The training was conducted by Rob Chadwick, Director of Education and Training at the U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) and the former head of the FBI Academy’s Tactical Training Program.

House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) invited all House members to attend. He told NHJournal it was the right thing for legislative leaders who support gun rights.

“As Second Amendment supporters, we believe in freedom and responsibility. We’re known as one of the freest states in the nation when it comes to concealed carry, but just as importantly, we want to be known as one of the most responsible states.”

Chadwick told NHJournal he had never worked in New Hampshire before, but he was impressed by the state’s “Live Free or Die” motto.

“It’s very inspiring to go into a state capitol, one of our original states, and see that motto in effect,” Chadwick said. “I mean, it doesn’t get any better and more concise than that.

“In order to live free, yeah, that’s free from tyranny of fear, not just the tyranny of government, and far more people are living under the tyranny of fear because they don’t know how to protect themselves.”

Democrats have repeatedly tried to change House rules and block members from carrying weapons into the State House or onto the House floor. When they won a legislative majority in 2018, Democrats voted to end the practice on their first day in office.

“This is simply a matter of public safety,” House Majority Leader Doug Ley (D-Jaffrey) said at the time.

And there had been a couple of embarrassing incidents.

In 2017, former Rep. Carolyn Halstead accidentally dropped her loaded handgun on the floor during a crowded public hearing. Halstead credited the fact that she had activated the weapon’s safety mechanism for it not discharging.

Read the full article from the NH Journal HERE.