HB 1793
Forces public colleges to allow firearms and weapons on campus. Eliminates all campus carry restrictions.
Status
Signed into law. Passed both chambers.
Vote: 188 Yea — 165 Nay
Sponsor
Rep. Sam Farrington (R-Rochester)
TL;DR
Strips UNH, Plymouth State, Keene State, and all public colleges of the ability to set their own firearms policies. Sponsored by Rep. Sam Farrington (R-Rochester) and called the "Protecting College Students Act" — Orwellian naming at its finest. University presidents opposed it. No permit required. Parents, students, and faculty had no say. This is now law. It makes campuses less safe and overrides local institutional control, which is ironic from the "local control" crowd.
Full Analysis
The "Protecting College Students Act" protects college students the way the PATRIOT Act protects patriots. Rep. Sam Farrington (R-Rochester) sponsored this bill that strips every public college and university in New Hampshire of the ability to set its own firearms policy.
Under this law, UNH, Plymouth State, Keene State, and all community colleges must allow anyone to carry firearms on campus. No permit required. No registration. No restrictions on where weapons can be carried — classrooms, dining halls, dormitories, sporting events.
Every university president in the state opposed this bill. Faculty senates opposed it. Student government associations opposed it. Campus police chiefs opposed it. The people who actually run these institutions and are responsible for student safety said this was a terrible idea. The legislature overrode all of them.
The irony is rich: this is the same political coalition that claims to champion "local control" and opposes state mandates on municipalities. But when a university wants to set its own campus safety policy? The state knows best. Local control only applies when the locals agree with the legislature.
Bill statuses as of March 2026. Check LegiScan or NH General Court for the latest.