Anti-cop New Hampshire lawmaker resigns
From CNN Boston Producer Fran Fifis
CONCORD, New Hampshire (CNN) -- The New Hampshire lawmaker who made national headlines and enraged law enforcement officials for saying it was all
right to kill police officers resigned Wednesday.
"This is to inform you that I am resigning my seat as state representative from Hillsborough County District 29, Ward 4 effective at 11:59 p.m. on this day," wrote Tom Alciere, a freshman Republican, in a letter to New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner and Speaker of the House Gene Chandler.
Alciere set off a firestorm after a local newspaper documented the
lawmaker's anti-police views, including comments he had posted on Internet
discussion groups.
He suggested that killing officers was a necessary evil. "It's
unfortunate that cops do make it necessary (to kill them) when they're waging a
war on drugs, and I view cops as enemy officers," Alciere told the Valley News
in Lebanon.
In a 1999 message posted on the Internet, Alciere said, "Nobody will ever be
safe until the last cop is dead."
He had offered to step down Monday on the condition that other lawmakers
step forward to sponsor the bills he has already put in place. Those bills
include proposals to eliminate mandatory education, legalize drugs, revoke the
drinking age, eliminate penalties for drunk driving and prevent families from
committing sick relatives to mental institutions.
Several representatives have offered to take over those proposals as a
way of getting Alciere out. New Hampshire Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen said those bills are already "dead on arrival."
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