I am writing to rebut some of the inaccurate claims laid forth by Rep. Jeanine Notter, and to call her out for the name-calling that passes for “dialogue” from some of today’s politicians. In her recent letter about NH state reps being forbidden from carrying firearms into the state house chambers, Rep. Notter cited the “Crime Prevention Research Center’s” claim that 98% of all mass shootings have been in gun-free zones. First, the “Center” is run by John Lott, who has created a cottage industry by fabricating reports and information on behalf of his sponsors at the NRA. Any unbiased view of his claim regarding mass shootings shows selective bias in creating his data. Second, there is zero provable cause-and-effect link between gun-free zones and mass shooters’ intentions. Not a single mass shooter, either before or after the shootings, has declared his selection of target based on a gun-free zone.

Rep. Notter goes on to say she finds it “..asinine..” to think otherwise. With respect to Rep. Notter I don’t find myself asinine, nor do I find her argument asinine either. These kinds of insults have no place in fact-based dialogue. Argue your point Rep. Notter, don’t degrade those who oppose it.

Rep. Notter also states, “The Democrats voted to…leave us defenseless”. Again, this is false. The state house employs armed security personnel and has since 2016. I wonder aloud if Rep. Notter thinks them incapable of protecting the house body.

Lastly, I have seen Rep. Notter quoted as saying she intends to disobey the current house rule. I applaud her intention to continue to speak out against something she is passionate about but disapprove or her intention to willingly ignore a majority vote of her peers.

Unlike Rep. Notter, I, as an average citizen, do not fear tyranny from within. I fear the continued loss of life at places like Parkland, Las Vegas, Orlando, Sandy Hook, etc. While we can argue whether mass shooters pick their targets because of gun-free zones, we can certainly all agree that their access to guns facilitated EVERY ONE of these killings.