UPDATE: Since Sen. Philip Baruth withdrew his bill, the Senate Judiciary will not hold a public hearing on gun control legislation.The Vermont Legislature will convene a public hearing on gun control legislation in early February.
Congress and a number of state legislatures are discussing a ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons and large ammunition magazines in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., in which 26 people died, including 20 first-graders. Adam Lanza, a young man with mental health problems, used an AR-15 to gun down the children and school staff.
Sen. Dick Sears, chair of the Senate Judiciary committee, has called for the hearing. Though he said he believes the federal government should set standards for gun sales, Sears says there is a legitimate debate to be had in Vermont.
Vermont is one of five states with no restrictions on the right to bear arms.
“Certainly, I think it’s better on a national level to have standards,” he said. “But that said, I still think there’s an interest here in Vermont, on what are Vermont’s problems, what needs to be done.”
Sen. Patrick Leahy, who is chair of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, is in a position to influence the national debate over gun control. The senator has said he will hold a hearing on the matter later this month. President Barack Obama unveiled a gun control proposal yesterday, calling for universal background checks and an end to assault weapons, according to Politico.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin examining possible remedies for tragedies like last month’s shootings in Newtown,” Leahy said in a speech to Georgetown University on Wednesday. “The questions we face about our national gun policy extend beyond the tragic results of mass murder; they extend to how we care for those with mental illness, how we manage the exposure of children to violence in popular media, and simple matters of gun safety.”
“Like many other gun owners, I believe that we should strengthen our federal laws to combat gun trafficking and ensure that those seeking to purchase guns do so with background checks – but this is only part of what is needed,” Leahy said.
Sears’ announcement comes days after the first piece of state legislation on gun control was introduced, by Sen. Phil Baruth, D-Burlington. His proposed bill, S.32, would ban the manufacture and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons, with penalties of a year in prison or a $500 maximum fine.
The proposed ban will likely stir passionate debate in Vermont which has a strong hunting culture.
Gov. Peter Shumlin told reporters earlier this month he believes the federal government should take the initiative on gun control measures. The governor made a show of his own interest in hunting in two highly publicized deer hunting ventures last fall.
“Listen, there are areas where the governor must lead, and there are areas where the federal government must lead,” Shumlin said at a Jan. 3 press conference. “My point is you need a 50-state solution. We’re not an island.”
“In the case of this challenge, if you can buy a gun in another state, or on the Internet, or at a gun show, Vermont does not have the power to solve that problem. It’s that simple. It’s common sense,” he said.
Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell, D-Quechee, told VTDigger last week that he would consider forming a special study committee on gun control this legislative session. Campbell decided against the study committee after a recent meeting with the Democratic caucus. He said he and other senators agreed that the issue was broader than gun violence.
Sears said another piece of state legislation he expects to be introduced would require the state to submit information to a national database that would allow gun purveyors to screen for buyers who aren’t mentally fit to own a firearm.
The hearing will be held on the evening of Feb. 7 in the Statehouse. In the meantime, the Burlington Free Press reports that South Burlington’s Green Mountain Gun Show this weekend will require background checks for buyers for the first time.
