NH House Republican Leaders React to Lawsuit Challenging School Choice Law

CONCORD – Today House Republican Leader Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett) and Deputy House Republican Leader David Hess (R-Hooksett) offered the following comments in reaction to the lawsuit filed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, American Civil Liberties Union and the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union challenging the constitutionality of the school choice law passed by the New Hampshire legislature in 2012. The law allows businesses to donate to scholarship programs for lower income families in exchange for credits against their state business taxes.

House Republican Leader Gene Chandler

“We believe the school choice law is constitutional. The policy committees that worked on this issue did a thorough job in ensuring we had a constitutional bill. This law is intended to help less fortunate New Hampshire families expand their education choices. It is a shame that we now have an out of state special interest group leading the charge to challenge this law. This frivolous lawsuit will no doubt cost the taxpayers of New Hampshire money and tie up resources. In the end, we believe the law will stand and New Hampshire will be able to continue this program to empower families by having the opportunity to do what they think is best for their children.”

Deputy House Republican Leader David Hess

“The legislation we worked on for several months and passed last year was modeled after similar legislation that was fully vetted and successfully passed in a number of other states. We wanted to ensure we had a bill that would withstand such a challenge. This is a privately funded scholarship opportunity that makes programs of academic excellence available to moderate and low income families. We are not giving funds to religious institutions we are giving scholarships to families. It is the families’ choice where they choose to use the scholarships.”

GOV. GARY JOHNSON: 30,000 DRONES OVER THE U.S. – GOVERN MENT SNOOPING AT AN ENTIRELY NEW LEVEL

February 15, 2012, Santa Fe, NM – Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is calling congressional approval of legislation making it easier for the government to operate unmanned drones over U.S. soil an “ominous step that raises serious concerns about individual freedom and privacy.”

The FAA Reauthorization Act, signed into law by President Obama Tuesday, includes a provision directing the Federal Aviation Administration to develop rules for the testing and licensing of drones to be flown in U.S. airspace and to expedite the process for authorizing their use by federal, state and local agencies.  The FAA projects that as many as 30,000 drones could be in use over the U.S. by 2020.

In a statement, Johnson said, “The threats to privacy in America – from our own government – seem to never end.  Does Congress really think they can just stick an ‘oh-by-the-way' provision in an obscure piece of legislation directing the FAA to clear the way for 30,000 drones to fly over our neighborhoods, and have no one notice?

“Big Brother is alive and well, and now we’re talking about making it easier for him to fly remote control planes loaded with cameras over our neighborhoods.  Based on our experience with the Patriot Act, the National Defense Authorization Act, and several other laws Congress has enacted in recent years, it is not alarmist to fear or assume that when we give the government the power to snoop, they will indeed snoop.

“The government, through the FAA, already has the power to permit specific uses of drones, such as in fighting forest fires, looking for lost campers, or helping deal with natural disasters.  And right now, they are being used to patrol the border.  Some of those uses may be justified and legit, and the rules allow for that today.  But directing the FAA to come up with a system that will allow federal, state and local law enforcement to deploy 30,000 drones is a very different proposition, and should absolutely not be allowed to proceed without a serious conversation about a very real threat to fundamental privacy.


“The ACLU, the Electronic Freedom Foundation and numerous other groups are expressing serious concerns about Congress’ action, as they should.  I share those concerns.  The idea that the air above our heads and homes should be turned into a wide-open playground for government snooping is an insult to freedom and to what remains of privacy in this country.”

 
 

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About Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson: Gary Johnson, two-term Governor of New Mexico from 1994-2002, has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for limited, efficient government and personal liberty.

Gary Johnson Braves the ACLU

Gov. Gary Johnson to ACLU: Repeal Patriot Act Now

January 30, 2012, Orlando, FL -- Speaking Sunday night to a national ACLU conference, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson called for repealing the Patriot Act in its entirety.  The two-term governor and presidential candidate’s remarks were delivered in Orlando, FL, at the ACLU’s annual National Staff Conference.

Johnson said, “Ten years ago, we learned that the fastest way to pass a bad law is to call it the ‘Patriot Act’ and force Congress to vote on it in the immediate wake of a horrible attack on the United States.  The irony is that there is really very little about the Patriot Act that is patriotic.  Instead, it has turned out to be yet another tool the government is using to erode privacy, individual freedom and the Constitution itself.

“Benjamin Franklin had it right. ‘Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety’.

“Absolutely, protecting the American people from those who would do us harm is the federal government’s most basic duty.  Everyone gets that.  But when harm is done, as on 9-11, it is the nature of government to ask for more power and more  authority in order to protect us.  That’s how we get laws like the Patriot Act.

“In fact, we now know that intelligence ‘failures’ of the sort that perhaps allowed 9-11 to happen were not due to a lack of authority, but were most likely the result of dysfunction.  We can and should fix the dysfunction, but that can be done without granting the government broad new powers to dig in to American’s lives, demand financial records from banks and businesses, and monitor your cell phone because your kid goes to school with a kid whose father might be associated with what might be a terrorist-supporting organization.

“Thoughtful review and actual experience over the past ten years under the Patriot Act have given us the wisdom of hindsight.  That hindsight leads me to the firm conclusion that it is a law that we do not need in order to protect ourselves, and that is itself a threat to the very constitutional guarantees of freedom it purports to preserve.

“After many promises to review, revise and make the Patriot Act less abusive, Congress last year extended its most troubling provisions until 2015.  That is too long to wait for another serious discussion of the essential liberties the Patriot Act threatens.  Congress should repeal it, and focus on restoring freedom rather than eroding it.”   

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About Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson: Gary Johnson, two-term Governor of New Mexico from 1994-2002, has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for limited, efficient government and personal liberty.

Gov. Gary Johnson to Address ACLU Conference in Orlando

January 26, 2012, Santa Fe, NM -- Former New Mexico Governor and presidential candidate Gary Johnson will be in Orlando, Florida, Sunday, January 29, to address the 2012 ACLU National Staff Conference. Johnson ranked highest of all presidential candidates on the ACLU’s 2012 Liberty Watch Report Card on Civil Liberties, ranking even higher than President Obama.

Governor Johnson will address the ACLU National Staff Conference at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, January 29. The conference is being held at the DoubleTree Hotel at SeaWorld, 10100 International Drive, Orlando.

Governor Johnson will be in the Orlando area on Monday, January 30, as well.

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About Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson: Gary Johnson, two-term Governor of New Mexico from 1994-2002, has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for limited, efficient government and personal liberty.