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CONCORD, NH — Today, State Senator Bill Gannon (R-Sandown) invited an attorney from an organization designated as a national hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center to testify on Senate Bill 132, for which he is prime sponsor.
Leaders from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) — the organization Sen. Gannon invited to testify — have ties to white supremacist groups and eugenicists documented to have made racist statements in the past.
The bill in question, SB 132, would require local New Hampshire officials to become more involved with immigration enforcement instead of federal immigration authorities.
In her testimony, attorney Shari Rendall, repeatedly conflated immigration with criminality.
Sen. Gannon has courted extreme legislation and movements in the past, just last year he was a vocal supporter of HB 1431, New Hampshire’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill which would have required New Hampshire schools to report gay, lesbian and transgender students.
In response, NHDP Chair Ray Buckley released the following statement.
“New Hampshire Republican elected officials continue to defy even our lowest expectations. By inviting hate groups to testify on this bill, this senator has undermined the processes of state government and has given credibility to a heinous organization seeking to spread division and hate across our state. We condemn this organization's involvement in our legislative process in the strongest possible terms.”