HAMPTON – A petition warrant article put forward in response to Selectman Regina Barnes’ “offensive and degrading” Facebook posts is not legal, according to the town attorney.
Town Counsel Mark Gearreald told voters at Saturday’s deliberative session that Article 22 calling for a social media policy for selectmen and to create an ethics committee has no legal standing as “Town Meeting only has the authority that N.H. law gives to them.”
The article was put forward by Hampton residents outraged by Barnes’ political social media posts including one relating mask mandates and similar restrictions to “gas chambers” used in Nazi Germany and another stating "If you can pretend Bruce Jenner is a woman & Kamala Harris is black, then you can definitely pretend I am wearing a mask."