Republican Gov. Phil Scott is on the clock to take action on legislation that clarifies that law enforcement officers can use chokeholds in certain circumstances.
The governor has until just before midnight Thursday to take action on the bill, H.145, but on Tuesday he sent an urgent letter to the Legislature in which he outlined concerns over a provision that would change the state’s “justifiable homicide” statute.
Scott wrote that he supports the chokehold clarification but wants the Legislature’s written assurance that citizens can come to the aid of others and defend themselves.
The governor said that the changes in the justifiable homicide statute “potentially make someone into a criminal for stepping up to protect the victim of a violent crime if they injure or kill the attacker.”
“If that is the case, the Legislature should act to correct this oversight,” Scott wrote.
The Republican governor’s reading of the legislation closely mirrors the National Rifle Association’s opinion of the bill. On May 7, the NRA issued a message to its members calling on Scott to veto the legislation.
The NRA names Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, who chairs the House Committee on Judiciary, and alleges that the bill makes it a crime to use lethal force in self-defense.
On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Judiciary responded to Scott’s letter with its own.
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who chairs that panel, and Grad signed a document that clearly states that H.145 does not eliminate or limit other longstanding laws that protect a person’s right to self-defense or efforts to protect others.
Other than responding to the governor, the Legislature does not plan to do anything more to the bill, which has strong support in both chambers.
“Of course the governor would prefer that we change the bill,” Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden, said Wednesday. “I don’t think anybody believes that the governor is going to veto this bill, especially over this particular thing that’s now clarified.”
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