Senate Democrats introduced their much anticipated gun control bill Thursday afternoon (S.31). Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell is the lead sponsor of the bill.
Gun control legislation has been met with stiff opposition in the past in the Vermont Legislature, and Gov. Peter Shumlin says he has no interest in supporting a background check bill.
Campbell says he is willing to risk his political career to move the legislation forward. The bill is designed to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons and provide a measure of protection for the general public, he says.
“I’m going to be moving to putting my seat on the chopping block because I think hard decisions have to made,” Campbell said.
Under the legislation it would be a crime to sell a gun privately without the supervision of a licensed dealer, who would perform a background check on the purchaser.
It would also allow state-level prosecutors to enforce federal firearm possession laws and require Vermont to report the names of people with mental illness who a judge has ruled are a danger to themselves or others to the National Instant Background Checks System (NICS) — the database used to check if someone is able to purchase a gun.
The bill has support from the national group Everytown for Gun Safety and locally from Gun Sense Vermont, both of which are spending heavily to push the background check portion of the bill. Everytown recently published a report highlighting how criminals could use online classifieds websites to purchase firearms illegally.
Gun rights groups will hold a rally next week to oppose the bill, and they have the support of Gov. Peter Shumlin who has said the state doesn’t need any new gun laws.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with quotes from John Campbell. Anne Galloway contributed to this report.
