Bob Giuda

Early life

Giuda graduated from Pittsfield High School and was appointed to the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1975 with a B.S. in Operations Analysis. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, and went on to serve 10 years as a Naval Aviator.

Military service and civilian life

Giuda's military career included active duty tours as a Marine Corps pilot aboard the USS Midway (CV-41), and as a flight instructor with the Navy's EA-6B training squadron at Whidbey Island, Washington. Reserve tours included pilot and Safety Officer with VMAQ-4 at Whidbey Island; and pilot with VMA-133 at Alameda, California. He flew numerous aircraft including the EA-6A, EA-6B, A-7E and A-4F Skyhawk. During his military service, he attended numerous schools, and completed the Aviation Safety Officer course at the United States Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.

After the Marine Corps, Giuda served as a Special Agent and pilot for the Federal Bureau of Investigation before leaving government service and pursue an airline career. As a result, he has been employed as an international Boeing 777 captain for United Airlines.

Political career

Giuda's political career began with the formation of the town of Warren Economic Development Committee, which ultimately resulted in an assessment of the community by the New Hampshire Rural Development Corporation. He was appointed and then elected as a selectman and chairman of the selectboard in Warren, New Hampshire, from 1998-2001. In 2000, he was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives, serving three consecutive terms in office. He opted not to seek a fourth term in 2006. While in the House, he was assigned to the Ways and Means and Labor and Rules committees and rose to the position of Deputy Majority Leader.

Giuda successfully sponsored a constitutional amendment that limited the government's power of eminent domain after the controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. City of New London. He also cosponsored numerous bills supporting a state spending cap, a constitutional amendment banning a New Hampshire income tax, and limiting judicial legislation from the bench.

National presence and international affairs

In October 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, he appeared on national television to advocate training and arming qualified commercial airline pilots to prevent against future hijackings. He founded the Airline Pilots Security Alliance[3], which lobbied Congress in support of the Federal Flight Deck Officer program that exists today to enable pilots to defend against future hijackings.

Kashmir and human rights advocacy

In December 2002 and February 2003, just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Giuda traveled to Pakistan-held Kashmir on a series of fact-finding missions to investigate atrocities against Muslim civilians allegedly being committed by the Indian Armed Forces and paramilitary forces. The mission included meetings with military leaders, members of Pakistan's cabinet, the National Assembly of Pakistan and Senate, and then-President Pervez Musharraf. Upon returning to New Hampshire, Giuda drafted and successfully shepherded a House Concurrent Resolution which led to U.S. House hearings on the ongoing atrocities in Kashmir.

He later founded and chaired Americans for Resolution of Kashmir[4] or "ARK" to educate Americans about the conflict in Kashmir and its relevance to national security. Upon returning to the United States, Giuda was featured on the front page of the New York Times International section as a result of the investigation into the atrocities in Kashmir; he also personally helped Pakistan's president prepare for meetings with US diplomats at Camp David. Giuda also presided over a panel discussion on "The Human Rights Dimension of the Kashmir Problem," where speakers from both sides of the issue respectively placed blame for Kashmir insurgency on Indian human rights violations and Kashmiri freedom fighters.

In November, 2005, he led a humanitarian relief team to the small village of Kafal Garh, 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above sea level in Kashmir, in the aftermath of the devastating October earthquake that killed an estimated 80,000 people in Pakistan. The team provided funding to construct metal shelters to deal with the onset of winter and an average snowfall of 28 feet.

2010 congressional campaign

In June 2009, he formed an exploratory committee for New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district seat. He announced his candidacy in October 2009 and officially filed as a candidate with the New Hampshire Secretary of State on June 8, 2010.

Incumbent Paul Hodes was seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by Judd Gregg, who was retiring. Hodes' intention to run for Senate left an open seat in New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district, for which five Republicans and two Democrats declared and filed as candidates.

The Second Congressional District at the time of the election consisted of the western and northern portions of the state, including all of Cheshire, Coos, Grafton, and Sullivan counties as well as almost all of Merrimack and Hillsborough counties plus three towns in Rockingham County and two towns in Belknap County. It comprised 171 towns and 7 cities.

Second Amendment

Giuda is a steadfast supporter of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. He believes that this right has been severely compromised in modern America and has pledged to oppose any legislation which interferes with a citizen's right to keep and bear arms, except in the case of felons. As noted above he founded the Airline Pilots Security Alliance which orchestrated the effort to establish the Federal Flight Deck Officer program which arms and trains airline pilots to defend against future hijackings.

...we continue as a nation to watch the government continue to restrict the rights of the righteous in a vain attempt to restrict the intentions of the unGodly.

Privacy

He opposes increasing the amount of biometric information on government identification cards. One of the reasons that he opposes further government intrusion into the healthcare system is the access authorities might have to private healthcare information.

Budgetary issues

During a June 2010 appearance in Salem, New Hampshire an audience member asked Giuda to name specific budgetary cuts he would make. He named five departments he believes need to be curbed on both the budgetary and regulatory fronts:

He notes that it is not practical to abolish any of these organizations but we must begin to dismantle them.

USA PATRIOT Act

Giuda believes the Patriot Act "is the worst form of destruction done to the Constitution, I think, in our country's history.

I would take 9/11 all over again rather than the thrashing our Constitution has taken. We took a seven trillion dollar hit on September 11th; we've recovered from that. What has been lost may not be recoverable and that is our freedom from unreasonable intrusion and search and seizure and for reasons not necessarily of a substantial enough nature that they would've brought on a search warrant prior.

Civil unions

Civil unions became legal in New Hampshire on January 1, 2008, and will continue to be legal until January 1, 2011. On the latter date civil unions will become same-sex marriages unless dissolved beforehand. Giuda has asserted that although he supports civil unions he is opposed to same-sex marriage.

However, in addition to his opposition to same-sex marriage later in the decade, in 2001 in his capacity as New Hampshire House of Representatives member from Grafton Giuda voted in support of New Hampshire HB454 as put forward by House Republican Daniel C. Itse which would have prohibited New Hampshire recognition of out-of-state civil unions. Giuda contends that this is consistent with his position today.

Same-sex marriage

Giuda opposes same-sex marriage, which is legal in New Hampshire. and regards the definition of marriage to be a union between a man and a woman.

After an appearance at Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire on June 28, 2010 in response to inquiries by members of his audience Giuda characterized some potential dangers he sees in same-sex marriage by saying "What's next? Men and sheep? Women and dogs?" He indicated his belief that same-sex marriage is the "downfall of the nation" in response to a question by another audience member and had previously indicated that he considered homosexuality to have been instrumental in the collapse of a number of previous civilizations such as Classical-era Greek Sparta.

Later Giuda specified that these remarks were made in the context of a discussion on institutionalizing marriage and said that his meaning was that "it is not to our good as a nation or a society to institutionalize relationships that do not involve a man and a woman for the protection of a family."

DADT

The American military policy Don't Ask, Don't Tell restricts the United States military from efforts to discover or reveal closeted gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members or applicants and bars citizens who are openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual from military service. Giuda has stated that he opposes repealing the laws mandating this policy.

Primary defeat

Giuda placed third in the 2010 U.S. Congressional primary behind Charlie Bass and Jennifer Horn.