Friday, March 23, 2018
The bill, S.55, was hotly contested in a debate that began Friday at 9:30 a.m. and lasted well into the evening, with one break for a late lunch. A final 85-59 vote on the bill took place just before 7:30 p.m.
“The policies in this bill will keep firearms away from those who intend harm and reduce the lethality of firearms that may be misused,” said Rep. Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington), who spent much of the day responding to questions and criticism from the bill’s opponents.
House Republicans vocally opposed much of the bill, arguing that it would be ineffective, unconstitutional, unduly burdensome on law-abiding Vermonters or some combination of the three.
“We are passing legislation today that does nothing, because it’s going to make a few people feel good,” said Rep. Patrick Brennan (R-Colchester).
Tags: guns , firearms , universal background checks , bump stocks , high-capacity ammunition , Martin LaLonde , Valerie Stuart , Patrick Brennan , Don Turner , Image , Web Only
The National Association for Gun Rights mailed postcards to Vermonters this week attacking Republican Gov. Phil Scott for embracing new gun control proposals. The Colorado-based group urged recipients to call the governor and ask him to veto S.55, a gun control bill that passed the Vermont Senate earlier this month.
The postcards feature a doctored photo of a childlike Scott sitting on the shoulders of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who stands beside Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) — both outspoken advocates of new guns laws.
"Is Vermont Governor Phil Scott Feinstein & Bloomberg's gun control lovechild?" it reads.
A lifelong proponent of gun rights, Scott changed course last month and embraced certain gun-control proposals following a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., and a foiled plot closer to home, in Fair Haven. But according to his spokeswoman, Rebecca Kelley, the NAGR postcard distorts the governor's views.
"It’s this type of misleading propaganda that’s so destructive to the work being done to better protect our kids and communities, and the governor will continue to exhibit bold leadership that keeps our kids safe without infringing on constitutional rights," she said in a written statement.
Tags: Phil Scott , National Association for Gun Rights , Michael Bloomberg , Diane Feinstein , Image , Web Only
“This law would put them out of business,” said Toensing, who also serves as vice chair of the Vermont Republican Party.
Tags: guns , Century Arms , Century International Arms , jobs , economy , Corey Parent , Brady Toensing , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
It passed the committee in a 6-5 vote, with all four Republicans on the panel and Rep. Chip Conquest (D-Newbury) opposing the legislation.
After the vote, Conquest explained that he supports parts of the bill, such as raising the gun buying age to 21 and a ban on bump stocks like those used in the Las Vegas shooting last year.
Tags: guns , Tom Burditt , Janssen Willhoit , Eileen Dickinson , Chip Conquest , bump stocks , universal background checks , gun control , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Despite the testimony and his own support for some kind of safe storage policy in Vermont, Rep. Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington) withdrew a proposal he'd made last week that would require guns to be locked up when the owner isn't in direct control of the weapon.
“It’s a little too broad,” LaLonde told the House committee Monday, noting that he wants to keep guns away from children and teens who shouldn’t have them but couldn’t find a policy that wouldn’t unduly limit home defense.
Tags: safe storage , guns , second amendment , Sarah Copeland Hanzas , Amy Sheldon , Jessica Brumsted , Lori Houghton , Maxine Grad , age limit , universal background checks , Image , Web Only
Saturday, March 17, 2018
The new proposals, from Rep. Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington) would put a 10-round limit on magazines and require guns to be locked up when they’re stored outside of the owner’s control.
“To have more than 10 rounds, it makes a firearm a more lethal weapon — more of a killing machine,” LaLonde said. “It’s one of the areas that advocates for having safer gun laws are really pushing, and they’ve studied this and they believe that this is one of the best things we can do for these shooter situations.”
The safe storage provision, he said, is designed to protect children and teens from hurting themselves or others by getting their hands on a gun without supervision.
Tags: Bill Moore , Martin LaLonde , magazine capacity , safe storage , firearms , home defense , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took to the floor of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday morning to call for gun control legislation, but in doing so he understated the number of gun deaths in Vermont by an order of magnitude.
“In my small state of Vermont, between 2011 and 2016, 42 people were killed by guns,” Sanders said in his remarks.
That’s the same window of time Vermont Public Radio focused on last year in a series documenting gun deaths in Vermont, but Sanders’ figure was way off. VPR’s reporting, which was based on data provided by the Vermont Department of Health, found that 420 people were killed by guns between 2011 and 2016.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , guns , Senate , assault weapons , background checks , Image , Video , Web Only
Friday, March 9, 2018
The resounding message under the chapel’s vaulted ceilings was that gun control is not the solution to America’s gun violence problem.
“In the various conversations we’re having in the legislature right now, it is real and true that we have a great struggle not only in Vermont but in our country,” said Rep. Janssen Willhoit (R-St. Johnsbury).
Tags: guns , Bob DePino , Eddie Cutler , Bill Moore , Janssen Willhoit , Rob Roper , Ethan Allen Institute , Jace Laquerre , Patrick Brennan , University of Vermont , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
“It’s a done deal, as far as I can see,” said Lee Morgan, who said the legislature plans to force such measures through without listening to citizen feedback.
Morgan said the bills would get approval from Gov. Phil Scott, who he called “Governor Benedict Arnold” in a reference to the infamous Revolutionary War traitor. Many pro-gun speakers went out of their way to slam Scott for his recent reversal on guns, which the governor has said came about as he read an affidavit related to a recently foiled school shooting plot in Fair Haven.
Tags: guns , Milton , Don Turner , Mitzi Johnson , Chris Mattos , Ben Joseph , Image , Web Only
Friday, March 2, 2018
Debate focused on raising the legal age; the Senate had given preliminary approval to universal background checks on Thursday.
The age-limit proposal came from Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) and 15 cosponsors, effectively guaranteeing its passage in the 30-member Senate.
On the Senate floor, Ashe said the goal behind that proposal was to keep young people from impulsively harming themselves or others.
Tags: universal background check , minimum age , guns , firearms , Tim Ashe , Chris Bray , John Rodgers , Joe Benning , Image , Web Only