A Dropped Handgun and Twitter F-Bombs: Just Another Day at the NH Statehouse

CONCORD, NH — The Legislature is in session and that means that there are going to be intriguing bills, heated arguments and discussion, dropped f-bombs, and maybe a dropped handgun, too.

Earlier last week, state Rep. Carolyn Halstead, R-Milford, lost control of a loaded handgun as she was taking off her backpack, according to the Associated Press.

The handgun reportedly came out of her waistband while she was attempting to remove her backpack and take her seat during an Education Committee meeting where she is a member. Halstead, according to the report, said she was “mortified” by what happened and quickly put her gun into her bag. Halstead is serving her second term in the House.

While New Hampshire is open carry, handguns are allowed at the Statehouse and Legislative Office Building, and Halstead reportedly has a conceal carry permit, House Speaker Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson, was quick to offer a scolding.

“The safety of the members and the public is always of paramount concern to me,” he said in a press statement. “The firearm owner bears the responsibility of maintaining control of said firearm at all times. Unfortunately, proper control was not exhibited in this instance. I have impressed upon her that, while no harm came from this incident, her lack of control is unacceptable.”

Rep launches F-bomb rants on Twitter

In another instance of possibly careless behavior, state Rep. Sherry Frost, D-Dover, who is also an adjunct professor at UNH, has come under fire for obscene remarks during Twitter spats about her Republican colleagues during hearings this week, including the right-to-work proposal and concealed carry.

On Tuesday, speaking of her colleagues on Twitter, “I'm perfectly willing to stand alone calling out all the f***ery, but it would feel a whole lot better to know someone's standing with me," among other Tweets with expletives. She has also previously likened Donald Trump’s immigrant registry proposal to the Nazis tattooing numbers onto their victims’ arms.

“Rep. Sherry Frost’s behavior is crude, extremely inappropriate, and beneath the dignity of her office,” said GOP state chairwoman Jennifer Horn in a statement about her f-bombs on Twitter. “As the mother of a student at the University of New Hampshire, I am especially appalled by her reprehensible conduct giver her position as an Adjunct Professor at the school.”

Horn called on Democratic leaders Jeff Woodburn, D-, and state Rep. Steve Shurtleff, D-Penacook, to condemn the remarks, saying they had a responsibility to stand up and condemn her behavior

“New Hampshire deserves an open and productive dialogue about the issues facing our state, and there is no place in public discourse for Rep. Frost’s name calling and childish outbursts,” she added.

Frost is a freshman representative, having run unopposed for the seat this year. According to her LinkedIn account, she has been an adjunct for about 10 and half years.

This isn’t the first time that state representatives have been acting badly.

Back in 2012, then-state Rep. Kyle Tasker, R-Nottingham, who is now embroiled in a major drug dealing and sex scandal, dropped his loaded handgun during a hearing. He was also chastised for making comments racially insensitive comments on Facebook, and belittling domestic violence by posting a graphic depicting a sexual act between a man and a woman that stated, “50,000 battered women and I still eat mine plain.” In an interview, he said it wasn’t a joke but he was trying to make a point about an offensive T-shirt graphic he saw. Another state Rep. Cynthia Chase, D-Keene, was also criticized for insinuating that Free State Project members were the biggest threat to the state.