And some times, they’re careless:
Gun-friendly New Hampshire is back in the spotlight after a lawmaker dropped a loaded firearm this week in a House hearing on a kindergarten bill.
But lawmakers packing guns on statehouse grounds and occasionally handling them recklessly isnt unique to the Live Free or Die state. At least 19 states, from Kansas to Texas to Idaho, allow legislators to carry guns in parts of or the entire capitol. In a handful of others that prohibit it, such as Oklahoma, lawmakers sometimes bypass security measures in order to carry concealed firearms.
Ive testified in a number of states where Ive had legislators show me they were carrying even though they werent allowed to do so, said John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Resource Center, which has gathered info on guns in statehouses.
No violent incidents of lawmakers carrying guns at statehouses have been recorded in recent memory. Carelessness is another matter.