Note the public discussion period is starting at 6 P.M. on October 21st.
Vermont's outdoor sporting and shooting communities need to be there
and speak out against this slice and dice of our Vermont Sportsmen's Bill of Rights. (See statutes below)
Burlington City Council to allow more time for public comment in hot-button issues
Public comment hearings extended for discussions of livable wage, F-35s and guns
Sep. 12, 2013 Written by Free Press staff report
Sep. 12, 2013
Written by
Free Press staff report
Due to increased participation in public comment hearings on hot-button issues, the Burlington City Council plans to offer extended public comment time at three upcoming meetings. The issues discussed will include the liveable wage ordinance, F-35s and gun-related city charter changes.
The public forums will be extended from a half hour to an hour at City Council meetings. The meetings will begin earlier than usual, City Council President Joan Shannon stated Wednesday.
Each public comment period will focus on a single issue:
• Sept. 23, 6- 7 p.m., Livable wage ordinance
• Oct. 7, 6 - 7 p.m., F-35s
• Oct. 21, 6 - 7 p.m., Gun-related city charter changes
Public forums are normally scheduled from 7:30 to 8 p.m., but so many speakers attended a recent meeting that some had to wait until the end of the meeting to speak, Shannon stated in a press release.
Shannon stated that the change would be more convenient for the public and a more efficient use of everyone's time.
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24 VSA Section 2291(8)
(8) To regulate or prohibit the use or discharge, but not possession of, firearms within the municipality or specified portions thereof, provided that an ordinance adopted under this subdivision shall be consistent with section 2295 of this title and shall not prohibit, reduce, or limit discharge at any existing sport shooting range, as that term is defined in 10 V.S.A. § 5227.
Politely request your legislators oppose the Burlington City Council attack on the Vermont Sportsmen's Bill of Rights.
E-mail addresses for the Burlington City Council are down below. The three critical statutes are further down below.
mayor@burlingtonvt.gov, jshannon@burlingtontelecom.net, sharon.bushor@vtmednet.org, bkranichfeld@burlingtonvt.gov, maxwell.k.tracy@gmail.com, vbrennan@burlingtonvt.gov, rsiegel@burlingtonvt.gov, dhartnett@burlingtonvt.gov, baubin@burlingtonvt.gov, chip.mason.btv@gmail.com, NormBlaisVT@gmail.com, paulfin@sover.net, doberv@burlingtontelecom.net, pdecellesw7@aol.com, kevinwbtv@gmail.com, tayres@burlingtonvt.gov,
The state laws are down below. 10 VSA Sec. 5227(a) defines sports shooting range.
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24 § 2295. Authority of municipal and county governments to regulate firearms, ammunition, hunting, fishing and trapping
Except as otherwise provided by law, no town, city or incorporated village, by ordinance, resolution or other enactment, shall directly regulate hunting, fishing and trapping or the possession, ownership, transportation, transfer, sale, purchase, carrying, licensing or registration of traps, firearms, ammunition or components of firearms or ammunition. This section shall not limit the powers conferred upon a town, city or incorporated village under section 2291(8) of this title. The provisions of this section shall supersede any inconsistent provisions of a municipal charter. (Added 1987, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), eff. May 9, 1988.)
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24 § 2291. Enumeration of powers
For the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience, a town, city, or incorporated village shall have the following powers:
(8) To regulate or prohibit the use or discharge, but not possession of, firearms within the municipality or specified portions thereof, provided that an ordinance adopted under this subdivision shall be consistent with section 2295 of this title and shall not prohibit, reduce, or limit discharge at any existing sport shooting range, as that term is defined in 10 V.S.A. § 5227.
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10 § 5227. Sport shooting ranges; municipal and state authority
(a) "Sport shooting range" or "range" means an area designed and operated for the use of archery, rifles, shotguns, pistols, skeet, trap, black powder, or any other similar sport shooting.
(b) The owner or operator of a sport shooting range, and a person lawfully using the range, who is in substantial compliance with any noise use condition of any issued municipal or state land use permit otherwise required by law shall not be subject to any civil liability for damages or any injunctive relief resulting from noise or noise pollution, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary.
(c) If no municipal or state land use permit is otherwise required by law, then the owner or operator of the range and any person lawfully using the range shall not be subject to any civil liability for damages or any injunctive relief relating to noise or noise pollution.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit or limit the authority of a municipality or the state to enforce any condition of a lawfully issued and otherwise required permit.
(e)(1) In the event that the owner, operator, or user of a range is not afforded the protection set forth in subsection (b) or (c) of this section, this subsection shall apply. A nuisance claim against a range may only be brought by an owner of property abutting the range. The range shall have a rebuttable presumption that the range does not constitute any form of nuisance if the range meets the following conditions:
(A) the range was established prior to the acquisition of the property owned by the person bringing the nuisance claim; and
(B) the frequency of the shooting or other alleged nuisance activity at the range has not significantly increased since acquisition of the property owned by the person bringing the nuisance claim.
(2) The presumption that the range does not constitute a nuisance may be rebutted only by an abutting property owner showing that the activity has a noxious and significant interference with the use and enjoyment of the abutting property.
(f) Prior to use of a sport shooting range after dark for purposes of training conducted by a federal, state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency, the sport shooting range shall notify those homeowners and businesses with property abutting the range that have requested such notice from the range.
(g) If any subsection of this section is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect the other subsections of this section that can be given effect without the invalid subsection, and for this purpose, the subsections
