The owner of the Boscawen pizza parlor looked uncomfortably at the 45 mm handgun strapped to Robert Forsythes hip. <\/p>\n
The gun was legal, Forsythe told him reassuringly. A Republican candidate for a House seat in Merrimack County District 8, Forsythe who pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon without a permit earlier this year has campaigned almost entirely on Second Amendment issues. <\/p>\n
Sometimes, he said, when asked whether people get nervous around the gun or question him about it. They never say anything, really. If they do, its usually a chance for him to educate them about existing gun laws. <\/p>\n
The gun is legal because New Hampshire has long been an open carry state, where residents can carry a handgun without a permit as long as its visible. After his arrest, Forsythe got his concealed weapon permit, which allows him to carry the gun hidden from view or with him in a car something that isnt legal under the open carry law. <\/p>\n
The focus of Forsythes campaign is something candidates expect will create controversy during the next legislative session: the prospect of constitutional carry. Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona and Vermont are among the states that have constitutional carry, in which a government-issued license to carry isnt mandated. <\/p>\n
I would co-sponsor constitutional carry, and if I cant push that through, Ill at least try to sponsor legislation to allow loaded rifles in cars. Nobody ever uses a rifle in road rage, said Forsythe, a 32-year-old former U.S. Army medic. <\/p>\n
Issues such as the economy, Medicaid expansion and Northern Pass are secondary to Second Amendment issues for Forsythe, and he isnt shy about it. <\/p>\n
Its been proven many times . . . the more armed citizens you have, the safer you are, Forsythe said. <\/p>\n
The gun-regulation divide surfaced again recently after the state Department of Safetys changes to the concealed carry license application prompted pushback from gun-rights activists. Constitutional carry discussions will be taken up this next session, said Pat Sullivan, executive director of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police. <\/p>\n
This keeps rearing its head in many different forms, Sullivan said. What we have currently works, and if its not broken, dont try to fix it. <\/p>\n
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A campaign to carry<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The owner of the Boscawen pizza parlor looked uncomfortably at the 45 mm handgun strapped to Robert Forsythes hip. The gun was legal, Forsythe told him reassuringly. A Republican candidate for a House seat in Merrimack County District 8, Forsythe who pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon without a permit earlier this year has campaigned almost entirely on Second Amendment issues Continue reading