Editor’s note: This commentary is by Ben Smith, of South Duxbury, who is an emergency physician.
[A]s a father of three teenagers, an emergency physician, and a lifelong Vermonter, I’m writing to urge our legislators to support S.6 – universal background checks — S.221, which establishes a process to remove guns from the hands of those deemed to be “extreme risk” — and H.422, which aims to allow guns to be removed from the hands of those accused of domestic violence. I also urge the passage of appropriate regulation of assault weapons and high capacity magazines.
Seventeen school shootings have occurred in our country since Jan. 1, the most recent of which we all know about. We have had three near misses in our very own state, a fact of which I’m sure we are all painfully aware. In my work in emergency departments, here and elsewhere, I have witnessed in graphic detail the effects of unrestricted gun access, while at home I have sat at the dinner table too many times, trying to look my children in the eyes and explain why things are as they are. What I feel, most prominently, is shame — for myself, my generation, and my country, that such atrocities are allowed to continue unabated, and unaddressed.
My father, Peter Smith, was a Republican congressman from Vermont between 1988 and 1990. He lost his re-election campaign to Bernie Sanders for a variety of reasons, but prominent among them was his support for gun control legislation following the Stockton school shooting in the late 1980s. No doubt many among us will remember that issue, that campaign, and the very public meanness and vitriol the gun issue engendered. Since that time, it seems to me that gun control has been a dead issue here, and a tragic blind spot in an otherwise great and good-hearted state.
It’s long past time that we made this issue right. The American Medical Association and the American College of Emergency Physicians, amongst many other medical and public health organizations, have called for universal background checks and restrictions on assault weaponry and high capacity magazines. Many Vermonters – hunters and others – have deeply held fears about gun regulation. Their concern is powerful, and real, and I would only ask them to consider re-examining these fears, particularly in light of recent events. Hunting is a vital piece of Vermont culture, and thoughtful, carefully considered gun regulation need not pose a threat to this noble history.
While I support S.221 and H.422 — good, commonsense measures — I do not believe they are enough. Without the universal background checks proposed in S.6, and due consideration toward the regulation of assault weapons, I believe the Legislature will have failed in its duty to address the tragic deaths to which we continually bear witness. Sen. Dick Sears has stated that he does not support S.6, and as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee he has significant power to help or hinder this process. Even if he personally opposes this measure, I urge him and his colleagues on the Judiciary committee to bring the bill to the floor, and allow an open vote.
