Being killed “in the line of duty” was once a job hazard reserved for law enforcement, the military and firefighters, but this week, the Granite State extended that terrifying reality to educators and other school employees. Offering a six-figure payout to surviving dependents of teachers and school support staff who lose their lives in a school shooting, HB 1415 passed Wednesday, and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is expected to sign it into law.
One of the bill's sponsors said she wants the families of teachers and staff to be taken care of financially in case the unthinkable happens.
"I pray to God that we never have to use the death benefit," state Rep. Mary Heath, a Democrat who is also a retired teacher, told CNN.
The $100,000 “death benefit” is tucked inside a $10 million school safety package designed to improve safety in state schools. The bill passed the New Hampshire House by just 15 votes despite mostly Republican opposition, and made it through the state Senate with even smaller margins, with most nays coming from the left.
In 2017, the Giffords Law Center gave New Hampshire an “F” rating for gun safety.
New Hampshire’s grade fell from a D to an F in 2017 after enacting a reckless law that allows people to carry hidden, loaded guns in public without any sort of permit or license. New Hampshire also doesn’t require background checks at gun shows, on the internet, or in private sales, making it all the easier for dangerous individuals buy a gun and bring it to public places.
Unsurprisingly, those same laws helped the “Live Free or Die” state secure a Top 15 spot on the Guns & Ammo ”Best States for Gun Owners” list last year.
All it took was the election of a new Governor for the Granite State to join the growing ranks of constitutional carry states. Governor Sununu signed permitless carry legislation in March, bringing New Hampshire up to maximum points for CCW. The state also receives ten points for its Black Gun, NFA and Castle Doctrine statutes. The state has a variety of shooting clubs, though many are members-only. The only real strike against New Hampshire is that one has to run the gauntlet of Massachusetts, New York (via Vermont) or Connecticut to get anywhere.
New Hampshire paid teachers an average of $57,522 in the 2016-17 school year, and support staff even less, so it feels more than accurate to say that the state is not only willing to pay these brave educators more for dying than for staying alive and teaching.
It also is obvious that gun owners feel their need to be armed is more important than student safety.
But hey, at least the families of dead teachers get a nice windfall, right?