Two New Hampshire Democrats participated in a gun violence forum Wednesday hosted by the Biden Administration.
The event, part of the White House's new Safer States Initiative, was billed as a way to give states more tools and federal resources to reduce gun violence. That includes rolling out model legislation on topics like gun storage and mandatory reporting of lost guns.
New Hampshire lawmakers say they're pursuing a range of gun safety laws in the wake of the New Hampshire Hospital shooting last month, which claimed the life of a security guard.
“One of the things that the New Hampshire Hospital situation did is, it showed to a certain extent that we are not immune from gun violence, we are not immune from random acts of gun violence in this state," said Rep. David Meuse, of Portsmouth, who attended the White House forum.
In New Hampshire, there’s growing bipartisan support for a measure that would require people who are involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals get flagged in federal background checks.
Meuse is co-sponsoring that bill and attended the White House forum. He said recent random acts of gun violence are a call to action.
"The last position we want to be in is having to respond reactively," Meuse said.
Other proposed gun bills backed by state Democrats include a red flag law and mandatory background checks. Both are likely to face steep opposition from Republicans in Concord.
