| On Thursday, January 28, the House Government Operations Committee will hear a trio of gun control bills that will unduly restrict the ability of Vermonters to carry for self-defense. The meeting is scheduled for Room 11 at the Statehouse from 9:00 a.m. until noon. This dangerous legislation does much more than it purports to do. These Burlington Charter change bills would strike a devastating blow to the state preemption statute and the Vermont Sportsmen's Bill of Rights, allowing any town or municipality to pass its own gun control scheme regardless of state law. This confusing patchwork of laws would be cumbersome and ripe for abuse as anti-gun local governments could easily circumvent the state Legislature. Despite these bad bills being rejected by the Legislature last year, Burlington public officials worked overtime to reintroduce the charter change bills in 2016 as House Bill 566, House Bill 567, and House Bill 568. Please contact your Representative and respectfully request him or her to vote against these bills. Don't forget to remind them that Vermont's gun laws are working just fine as the state has one of the lowest violent crime rates in the country. You can contact the Sergeant-of-Arms at (802) 828-2228 to leave a message for your lawmaker and request a call back. |
