Gun control not resonating as a key issue in New Hampshire

Politics

Gun control not resonating as a key issue in New Hampshire

With a surge of mass shootings in the United States this past year, a debate raged about whether gun-control measures were overdue to make Americans safe. However in New Hampshire, the gun culture is alive and well. With a population overwhelmingly familiar with and comfortable with firearms, gun-control issues that have resonated across the nation barely register among voters getting ready for Tuesday’s presidential primary. Kirk McNeil, owner of a bar in Concord, thinks gun control is more an issue for local or state politics than at the presidential level.

Nearly half of New Hampshire’s residents either own a firearm or live in a household where they are present. The Legislature remains conservative and famously allows lawmakers to openly carry firearms. David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, points to a recent poll that shows that Hillary Clinton’s positions on gun control more closely mirror those of Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire, yet she still trails Bernie Sanders in polls. The primary state has been relatively untouched by the police shootings and mass shootings that have spiked this year across the nation. It is one of only five states in the country that did not have a mass shooting in that period.