The House Judiciary Committee slogged through a day full of hearings on Wednesday about H.610, a bill aimed at reducing gun-related violence in domestic abuse situations. The bill is a high priority for House leadership. “I’m hoping it will come out [of committee] next week,” said committee chair Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown.
That seemed highly optimistic, as the panel heard witness after witness picking apart the bill almost line by line. The testimony focused on a provision that would make it easier to obtain “extreme risk protective orders” in cases where a victim is in imminent peril.
“Violent crimes have been down in Vermont, but domestic violence-related homicides are going up,” Grad said. “We want to make sure that [the ERPO process] is enforced consistently statewide.”
Fourteen witnesses were on the committee’s list Wednesday. Eleven were men. Only one witness represented victims: Sarah Robinson, deputy director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic & Sexual Violence. Most of the men were testifying on behalf of judges, prosecutors and police. And they were very concerned with how H.610 might complicate their jobs.
To some extent, this is understandable. The process is fraught with difficulties, and police who are tasked with enforcing orders can find themselves in dangerous situations. But the gender imbalance, on an issue that predominantly affects women, was striking. It was a good example of how Statehouse witness lists tend to favor professional organizations, lobbyists and experts, at the expense of those directly affected by proposed legislation.
Another provision of H.610 would close the so-called “Charleston Loophole,” which allowed Dylann Roof to purchase a gun that he used in a mass shooting at a predominantly black church in Charleston, South Carolina. When Roof tried to buy the gun, the seller sought a background check through a federal database. But the seller was under no legal obligation to wait for an answer, and three days later he made the sale. Current Vermont law allows sellers to proceed if they don’t get an answer on a background check within three days. H.610 would make them wait 30 days.
Domestic violence advocates fear that the loophole provision might fall victim to protracted wrangling over the protective order issue. Gun owners’ groups argue the bill is an unnecessary restriction on their rights. The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a public hearing on the bill next Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 5 p.m. If Grad has her way, the bill will move out of her committee shortly after that.
– John Walters, VTDigger political columnist
This is an excerpt of Final Reading. For the full rundown of bills in motion at the Statehouse, the daily legislative calendar and interviews with newsmakers, sign up here for the unabridged version delivered straight to your inbox Tuesday through Friday evenings.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct an inaccurate date. The House Judiciary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18.
