The House backed the bill by a vote of 82 to 58 — enough to secure passage, but not enough to override a possible veto by Gov. Phil Scott, who has expressed general opposition to new gun laws. Such an override would require 100 votes in the 150-member House.
Rob and Alyssa Black of Essex, whose 23-year-old son Andrew killed himself with a handgun last December just hours after purchasing it, watched the lengthy debate stoically from the rear of the House chamber. Afterward, they hugged supporters and expressed relief and appreciation to legislators.
“It was a hard decision, but it was the right decision,” Rob Black said of those who backed the bill.
“We believe that Gov. Scott has shown time and time again that he’s willing to make courageous decisions,” Alyssa Black said, expressing optimism that he might sign it. “I would hope he would show that again.”
Supporters said the bill, S.169, would help reduce suicides by making impulse gun purchases more difficult, while opponents characterized the legislation as making it harder for people to defend themselves against perpetrators of domestic violence.
A number of Republicans offered amendments seeking to soften the impact of the bill.
Rep. Topper McFaun (R-Barre) proposed an exemption for gun shows and club raffles. He said the bill, as written, could imperil the Barre Fish and Game Club’s gun shows, which he said brought significant economic benefits to the town he represents.
“These are Vermont traditions and should be allowed to continue without threat of demise,” McFaun said. His amendment failed 56 to 81.
Rep. Robert Bancroft (R-Westford) sought to exempt guns sold over the internet, reasoning that they would take longer than 24 hours to ship. His amendment failed by a similar margin.
Another proposal by Rep. Patrick Brennan (R-Colchester) to exclude domestic violence victims from the law also failed to win support. Brennan argued that if passed as drafted, a domestic abuser would know his victim would not have access to a gun during the “very volatile period.”
Exempting domestic abuse victims from the waiting period would at least “plant the seed of doubt” in an abuser’s mind about whether the victim might be armed, Brennan argued.
Rep. Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington) noted that the best course of action in such a situation is for a domestic violence victim to get to a safe shelter, not to get a gun.
Alyssa Black said the suggestion that domestic violence victims should “go get a gun and good luck” was “cynical.”
Though some gun-control advocates had hoped to set the waiting period at 48 or 72 hours, they compromised with gun rights advocates at 24 hours. The bill only applies to handgun purchases.
Rep. Anne Donahue (R-Northfield) sought to have the bill referred to the House Health Care Committee on the grounds that the impact on reducing suicide had not been sufficiently studied. That effort failed, as well.
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“the best course of action in such a situation is for a domestic violence victim to get to a safe shelter, not to get a gun.”
Right. There’s no way a safe, gun free zone could be attacked. That’s never happened anywhere. They always have room, and no case has ever seen a person turned away from a shelter.
Way to victim blame, representative. Why don’t they just get the help to drive them to their summer house?
“Best” would be *an* opinion. You just tried to make it the only one.
The ” anti-gun ” lawmakers in Montpelier will never be satisfied until all guns are outlawed, period… The liberal Progressive/Democrats in Montpelier have become the ” Ruling Overlords ” over each & every Vermonter across the state. The vast majority of them come from elsewhere, moved to their new playground, called Vermont. Many are wealthy, own more than (1) home, college educated with law degrees. They create the ” Rules & Regs. that work in their respective favor. The places they left in order to get away from it all, they are simply recreating it right here in VT. They get on the local school boards & run for town positions across the state. The rest is history… 🙁
Love the gun fanatics’ comments. Every woman I know would rather go to a safer place than shoot the man they may still love. These victims are people, not some monolithic thing, and they have enough problems without adding a gun to the mix. Don’t know when a gun ever has solved a problem, rather than creating more.
Dont sign it Governor Scott. If you do you are cancelling out one of the very reasons the second amendment was put in place. Our legislators no longer make the hard choices. Doing whats hard makes life easy for Vermonters. Doing whats easy makes life hard for Vermonters.
Barbara, no one wants to shoot anyone. The current law doesn’t say “domestic violence victims must buy guns.
“Everything not banned is mandatory” is a joke.
If you actually looked, you might find some women who have actually testified saying exactly what these “gun fanatics” are saying.
Warren v DC: police have no duty to protect you.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/counterpoint-ra…
https://crimeresearch.org/2015/06/new-jers…
This took me under three minutes to find.
The flip side of the domestic abuse coin is the fact that those who commit domestic abuse do not necessarily want to and in a fit of rage are not going to stop to logically consider his/her partner might have a gun purchased inside of the 24-hour waiting period.
vermonts gone to hell with all these outside laws from implants , when they actually are the ones who bring the trash here in the first place, mark my words you will see vermont crime get even worse then it is now , these liberal laws do not work and if you dont see this then your blind
This was posted elsewhere and is the absolute truth about what is happening to Vermont
WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Natures God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of HappinessThat to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
In it’s blatant disregard for our rights and our will, this government has gone beyond destructive. I hereby revoke my consent to any and all authority over me by any government officials.
Speaking of sanctuary cities… Not everyplace is as A$$ backwards as Vermont
Four Rhode Island towns have declared themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries in the last two weeks.
Four Rhode Island towns, Burrillville, Hopkinton, West Greenwich, and Foster, declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries in the past two weeks. Just two months ago, a similar policy was passed in 25 of New Mexicos 33 counties as they also adopted Second Amendment Sanctuary status. The New Mexico county sheriffs are under no obligation to enforce new gun controls passed by the Democrat-controlled state government
I like that people clicked dislike on the declaration of Independence.
Hey, Doom, maybe they were disliking the editorial comment and not the Declaration. Ya know, if you read the whole post, there’s an addendum to the Founders’ words.
What difference is a whopping 24 hours gonna do?
So they like the declaration of Independence, and then dislike someone using it in roughly the same way the original writer did? Ok.
King gets a letter.
“Oh wow this is great. Wait, who is it from?!”
So if this law is mostly to prevent suicide why would you have to wait 24hrs to buy your 2nd, 3rd, and so on gun? Anything in the bill exempting current gun owners? Does Phils armed guards have to wait, or are they exempt just like the magazine ban?