Their vote was the latest call for new restrictions in the wake of the February 14 school shooting that killed 17 people in Florida and the recent arrest of a Vermont teen after an alleged foiled school shooting plot in Fair Haven.
The resolution urges legislators to “swiftly act to keep our children alive” and ban the manufacture, sale and possession of military-style assault weapons.
Most of the board members voted by phone in the special session, which fell during a school vacation week. Only two board members were present for the short session at the Ira Allen central office building on Colchester Avenue, as was superintendent of schools Yaw Obeng.
Acting board chair Stephanie Seguino, who led the meeting, said she believes the resolution will make a difference in the debate. “I think speaking on behalf of children is important and that’s really the purpose here,” she said.
“The more pressure we can put on getting some of these things passed, it’s all to the good,” said board member Mark Porter, who was also present.
Fear of shootings and efforts to prepare for them is taking a toll, according to the resolution. It says, “Vermont schoolchildren spend increasingly more time participating in lockdown and active-shooter drills (now more common than fire drills), detracting from time spent on critical classroom learning and invoking significant anxiety and fear among students.”
Vermont legislators appear to be showing a new willingness to consider more restrictive gun laws, which is a major turnabout. Vermont has long been known for its relaxed gun laws and until now many proposals to change the status quo have failed.
But on Friday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would allow police to remove guns from people considered an “extreme risk” to themselves or others. Several other measures are under debate.
Burlington is not the only school board to ponder the gun threat. The Addison Central School District board passed a similar resolution last week, which helped inspire Burlington’s board to follow suit.
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The Burlington School Board is so disconnected with rural Vermont, it is truly a sickening situation. Burlington is not even a county in Vermont, and if it was it would be the most violent, which it is.
Burlington, THE CHICAGO OF VERMONT!!!!
Good for the school board. I see that the Addison Central School Board (rural area, Paul Lorenzini) has also passed a resolution calling for gun safety reforms. Look for the Slate Valley district (the rural area containing Fair Haven Union High School, Paul Lorenzini) to do the same.
Burlington School Board is an embarrassment to Vermonters. Left wing pansies that have no idea about protecting America. The only way to protect schools is to arm the teachers and staff, and to implement the use of cameras and guards at the entrances. There are plenty of teachers who support carrying a gun, and lots of vets who would love to be guards, and to teach gun safety courses. The School Board should be the first to take the gun courses as they appear to be among the most ignorant.
As Keith Stern said “Even before Vermont was a state, the brave men and women, young boys, and girls used guns to protect themselves and feed their families. They used those guns to assist them in settling the Green Mountain State. Brave Vermonters went on to fight for their freedoms and the freedoms of others using their firearms. Vermonters continued to feed and protect their families with their firearms, just as they do today.
In the writing of Vermonts Constitution the Second Amendment was reiterated. It is important to note that Vermonts Constitution is the shortest of all the state Constitutions, clearly they felt that the PEOPLES right to bear arms was important enough to include.
Chapter 1, Article 16. [Right to bear arms; standing armies; military power subordinate to civil]
That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State–and as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power.
Here we are in 2018 fighting to keep our State Constitutional right to bear arms! Has the Vermont government forgotten that the State doesnt have rights, the PEOPLE have the rights, the government has limited powers, powers that are outlined by the Constitution.
Are you sick and tired of having to fight for your Constitutional rights? You should be!
The state is stepping all over us with their thirst for more power.
YOUR RIGHTS TRUMP ITS POWER!”
I’m sick and tired of being a violent nation, seeing our children killed and seeing our fellow citizens slaughtered, all because a right to a killing tool is considered sacrosanct, never to be diminished or modified no matter how different the weapons are from the type used at the writing of our Constitutions. Love your children, your friends and your neighbors, more than you love your right to access these weapons.
A trout I love my right to bear arms so Im able to defend my children, my friends and my neighbors from those that would try to hurt them. Im so thankful my children are not under the supervision of the Burlington School Board that would rather see the children of the city killed by a mad man instead of arming teachers and staff that voluntarily step up to defend the lives of the children they love if evil ever trys to raise its ugly head in a Burlington school. Or come up with a way to fund having armed police officers at every school in town when ever the school is occupied. These people need to focus on providing the children of Burlington a quality education and leave the nations gun laws alone.
Not a single proposal on the table removes anyone’s right to defend themselves.
Thankfully, lawmakers and Burlington’s School Board are beginning to wake up to that fact and deny those who call for unfettered access to all levels of weaponry.
Citizen, you’re living a fantasy, a tactical warrior-protector dream at the expense of everyone else.
A Trout talk to the 17 families in Florida that lost loved one because the cops refused to act. I bet there are more than a few that are wishing today that a good guy or girl with a gun had been in that school. You just dont hear their voices because it does not fit the medias narrative. I sure hope you never are in a place where you need protection but if you find yourself in that place you will be wishing for a good person with a gun to cover your ass. If Im around Ill have your back even if you are against protecting kids in school.
Gun law discussions are fine. But I don’t see how legislation for gun controls, which will probably take years to put in place and figure out how to fund for proper enfocement of the laws, will stop somebody from shooting up the school my grandkids are in tomorrow. As any plumber can tell you, fix the leak first before you fix the cause of the leak. We need effective security in Vermont schools now, and then we can work on fixing the cause of the problems.
Like I said, Citizen, you keep living the fantasy. You want it so easy for weapons of war to be available for all, and you can pretend all you want that you’ll be so fast on that trigger. That tactical warrior dream of yours is costing society a whole lot of pain right now.
David – schools have School Resource Officers, which are members of local law enforcement agencies. These SROs are armed already. In the case of Columbine, the SRO exchanged gunfire but did not prevent the massacre. In the case of Parkland, the SRO was outside the building. In the planned attack on Fair Haven Union High School, the alleged shooter’s first target was the SRO.
There’s this myth, perpetuated by the gun industry, that the Good Guy with the Gun will save the day. It’s what Citizen believes, and it seems like it’s what you’ve bought into also. The element of surprise is never in the GGwG’s favor in stopping a massacre.
Wow, the pro-gun faction in Vermont is out in full swing as keyboard warriors. God forbid an elected body pass a resolution concerning the safety of the individuals they are charged to serve.
Just as Tiki said, no current proposals by the state restricts the right to bear arms – it just places limits on it. This is much akin to how limits are placed on free speech – libel and slander aren’t protected – or the freedom of assembly – you can’t hamper the ability of emergency services by demonstrating. Where were all of you constitutional absolutists when the UVM students blocked traffic? Oh wait, you guys are only interested in rights that benefit you directly.
Also, can we not use the word pansy Timothy? I’m sorry you feel so negatively towards homosexuals, but it’s not the place to air that grievance.
Thommy I guess you have not looked at any of my post or the many others like me that have commented not only stories related to gun rights but also on the UVM student and staff protest. I think if you look at those post you might see that we have some commen ground.
Hi Thommy,
I am aware of the security currently used in schools. I haven’t bought into anything. My comment was about beefing up security at the entrances to schools. Any myth related to the gun industry that you refer to has nothing to do with my comment. My point is that to protect students, sooner rather than later, we need to stop shooters from getting into the schools. Once these people are in the school, it doesn’t matter if the security people have guns or not. The only result will be chaos and tragedy.