(The Center Square) — New Hampshire residents will be able to bring their firearms to work beginning this year under a new law that makes the state the latest to ease workplace restrictions on firearms.
The law, signed by Gov. Chris Sununu in July 2024, permits workers in New Hampshire to store guns and ammunition in a locked car on their employer’s property.
Under the new law, any public or private employer receiving public funds from the federal or state government is prohibited from asking employees whether they have firearms or ammunition in their vehicles and searching their vehicles for firearms or ammunition. However, the guns and ammunition may not be visible to the public.
It also shields employers from civil liabilities for any economic loss, injury, or death that results from an employer’s compliance with the new requirements.
Employers can still ban firearms from being carried on an employee’s person in company-owned or -leased vehicles, under the new law. That also applies to state agencies, municipalities, and private employers that receive public funds from the federal or state government.
New Hampshire is one of 26 states that have enacted legislation allowing employees to keep legally owned guns in their vehicles, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Another new law that goes into effect on Jan. 1 bans New Hampshire gun sellers from using a receipt code that would identify gun purchases to credit card companies.
New Hampshire joins eight other states that have adopted similar laws, many of them in response to an international credit group’s controversial proposal to use credit card receipts to track gun sales. Many U.S. credit card companies had already rejected the plan following a public backlash.
The National Rifle Association praised the new law, saying it “protects gun-owners privacy and ensures that bad actors cannot use credit and debit card transactions to create a gun-registry or block cardholders from making gun-related purchases.”
“Collecting firearm retailer financial transaction data amounts to surveillance and registration of law-abiding gun owners,” the NRA said in a statement. “Those promoting this scheme are in favor of firearm and gun owner registrations.”
New Hampshire has some of the most permissive gun rules in the nation but also boasts one of the lowest gun death rates. The state allows people to carry guns openly or concealed, and there is no requirement to get a firearm license. People and businesses can generally set their own gun rules on their private property.
