Within the legal system of the New Hampshire, there is a presumption of innocence, until otherwise proven in a court a law. New Hampshire also enacted civil asset forfeiture reform, so an innocent person does not have to fight the government out of pocket to get back their property which was seized before any conviction was made.

But, we still have another law on the books within the protective order statute that requires a defendant to petition the court, and then prove their innocence to have any firearms and ammunition return to them upon termination of the order. This is backwards from due process.

I filed a bill to invert the responsibility onto the plaintiff, that they must petition the court and argue their case why the defendant shouldn’t be permitted to have their property returned. I also took umbrage with two other sections of the law that allowed police to charge for a “storage fee” and then again be off the hook for damaged property. I was especially surprised hearing one anecdote where the “storage fee” was more than the weapon was worth!

I am looking for co-sponsors.