Thread: NH gov weighing bill to prohibit human smuggling

NH gov weighing bill to prohibit human smuggling
July 14, 2009 9:55 AM ET

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Gov. John Lynch has until midnight Wednesday to decide whether to sign a bill that prohibits human trafficking in New Hampshire.

Traffickers face up to 30 years in prison if the victim is under 18.

Last year, a commission studying the issue embraced stiff penalties for human smuggling.

Nashua Democratic State Rep. Suzanne Harvey, who chaired the interagency commission, is the prime sponsor of the bill before Lynch. The bill also outlines procedures for the state to take property used in the illegal activity.

Two years ago, a former domestic violence advocate on the Seacoast learned of a 17-year-old girl who said for five years she had been enslaved for sex with four others. The woman fled because she was undocumented and feared law enforcement.



http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=10722691

I hope the Gov does the right thing. How shameful if he puts his "approval" on human smuggling.