Marsy's Law Fight to Protect Victims’ Rights in Constitution Continues
APRIL 26, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Jennifer Horn - 603.440.3070
Marsy's Law Fight to Protect Victims’ Rights in Constitution Continues
CONCORD, NH – Today, the New Hampshire House voted 284 - 51 against CACR 22.
“Although we are profoundly disappointed in today’s vote, we are grateful for the broad, bipartisan support displayed for this measure,” said Amanda Grady Sexton, State Director of Marsy’s Law For NH. “We would like to thank every Senator and State Representative who listened to victims of crime, understood the amendment and voted in support of it. We also thank Governor Sununu, Attorney General MacDonald and the many community leaders who came forward to express their support.
“Unfortunately, there are some people who just don’t support victims having equal constitutional protections to the accused and convicted. We believe that a majority of New Hampshire residents want that to change. It has been 25 years since a New Hampshire Attorney General first recommended that our state pass such an amendment and the fight to do so does not end today. We will continue to work with legislators, grassroots activists and, most importantly, crime victims to provide equal, constitutionally protected rights for New Hampshire crime victims.”
Background:
In every state, the bar for passing a constitutional amendment is high. As a result, it is typical for individual state versions of Marsy’s Law to take multiple legislative sessions to pass through to the ballot for voters to then decide. For example, Marsy’s Law for Kentucky started in 2015 and eventually made it to the ballot for 2018. Similarly, Marsy’s Law for Georgia also started in 2015 and will be on the ballot in 2018.
About Marsy’s Law for New Hampshire:
Marsy’s Law for New Hampshire represents two decades of advocates’ work to establish enforceable rights for victims of crime. In coordination with the NH Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence, Marsy’s Law for NH is a broad coalition of Granite Staters working to ensure that victims of crime in our state are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect and are provided with enforceable constitutional rights.