New Hampshire

‘I Now Feel Hopeless': Students Among Group Protesting Sununu's Gun Control Vetoes

Dozens of gun violence prevention advocates took their message to Concord, New Hampshire, calling out Gov. Chris Sununu Monday for his vetoes of three gun control bills last week.

The group included politicians, community members, parents and students who say the governor is failing to protect them.

"Our governor has just vetoed three bills that would make us all a lot safer," said Coe-Brown Northwood Academy senior Ruby Carr. "Not only do I feel threatened everywhere I go, I now feel hopeless."

Carr and her sister, Rowan, stood with signs in the lobby of the Legislative Office Building in Concord to say they've lost hope in the system after Sununu vetoed the measures they consider common sense.

"When I heard he vetoed, I thought to myself, 'Did he even read it?'" Rowan Carr said.

The three bills called for gun-free school zones, a three-day waiting period to buy a gun and universal background checks -- something the group says is supported by 90 percent of New Hampshire residents.

"It is time he get on board and listen to his constituents instead of the corporate gun lobby," said Zandra Rice Hawkins, the director of Granite State Progress, the group that organized the event.

In his veto message, Sununu wrote that these bills would not solve our national problems and would do nothing to prevent evil people from causing harm.

Republican State Rep. Al Baldasaro agrees.

"Criminals do not do background checks," he said.

Baldasaro stands behind the governor for rejecting what he calls "unnecessary legislation" that would violate our Second Amendment rights.

"New Hampshire is one of the safest states in the country," he said. "Why do we have to fix something that's not broken here?"

But advocates say that's the kind of attitude that does nothing to stop the Granite State from becoming yet another statistic.

"We don't want something to happen here before he has his eye open to what needs to be done," Rowan Carr said.

Lawmakers will have the chance to override the governor's vetoes. They'll need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to make that happen.

Those override votes are schedules for Sept. 18 and 19.

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