With 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.”
Rob Chadwick conducts concealed carry safety training with members of the N.H. House of Representatives, April 29, 2025.
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.
In 2012, former Rep. Kyle Tasker (R-Nottingham) blamed the effects of having recently donated blood for dropping his firearm on the floor during a committee meeting.
“All I could think of was, it was bound to happen one of these days, I come here too often for that not to have happened,” Tasker said at the time.
Chadwick said proper training and responsibility should ensure that potentially lethal accidents will never happen.
“The reality is that most people aren’t nearly as proficient with their firearm as they think they are, including law enforcement,” Chadwick said.
Chadwick added he’s not in the business of “trying to persuade or dissuade anybody” from utilizing their Second Amendment rights.
“I simply want them to have the facts,” he said. “I always make a joke in my presentation about sort of the Joe Friday approach, right? I’ll give you the facts. You make the decision. The reality is that the firearm is the one tool that we have today that truly levels the playing field.”
Democrats and Republicans in the Granite State remain divided over gun rights and the Second Amendment.
Former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig ran for governor last year on a platform that included repealing the state’s constitutional carry law and banning the sale of so-called “assault weapons.”
In February, two gun control measures introduced by Democrats – one which would have required mandatory waiting periods and background checks, and another which would make it unlawful to carry a firearm inside a polling location – quickly died in the GOP-led House.
In January, however, House Republicans mobilized to advance legislation that would give more leeway to lawmakers who accidentally or inadvertently brandish a firearm while inside the State House.
Chadwick said Tuesday’s training session was not a partisan event.
“Training someone how to handle a firearm isn’t political,” he noted, adding that having a trained professional coach gun owners on safety and responsibility is central to USCCA’s mission.
“Don’t just go on YouTube, or don’t just ask your Uncle Charlie who was in the military once for training. Go to a trusted advisor. Obviously, I’m very biased towards the USCCA, but we have 8,000 trained instructors around the country.”
Chadwick also observed the lack of metal detectors present at the State House entrance — an unusual level of liberty in the post-9/11 era.
“A lot of times, those physical security measures are an illusion,” he said. “That gives you that false sense of security, ‘Oh, there’s a metal detector there, so I’m safe.’ Well, we’ve seen that one of the worst mass shootings we’ve had in our country’s history was in one of the most secure buildings in the world, the Navy Yard in Washington, DC.”
Chadwick added he understands “the firearm is not the tool for everything.”
“It’s extremely limited in its use, but it’s one of those things there really is no substitute for in an extreme emergency. And what a blessing it is for us to have that Second Amendment guaranteed right to have it.”
