A labor group representing thousands of Vermont workers has declared its support for gun rights, saying they need to defend themselves and vulnerable communities from violent extremists and to uphold democracy.
The Vermont AFL-CIO publicized its support for gun rights — and opposition to what it described as the rise of fascism that threatens democracy in the U.S. — in a resolution that group leaders passed Sunday.
Vermont AFL-CIO President David Van Deusen cited the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, the passage of voter suppression laws in some states and the rise of right-wing extremism as factors in the state labor group’s decision to officially back gun rights.
“We all know that the dangerous, violent, extreme right is armed to the teeth, and there is no law that can be passed on the state or federal level that would reverse that fact,” Van Deusen said Tuesday.
And if militant groups become a threat in Vermont, he said, union members and their allies will be prepared to “take reasonable measures” to ensure people are kept safe.
People of color, immigrants, the working class and low-income communities are most at risk of attacks by fascists, white supremacists and individual extremists, according to the two-page resolution.
This policy means that the Vermont AFL-CIO, which has a lobbying arm in the Statehouse, will “actively oppose any unreasonable gun control measures,” Van Deusen said.
The labor group said it would be communicating the new policy to state officials and Vermont’s congressional representatives.
A copy of the resolution had not yet reached the office of U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Tuesday afternoon, but spokesperson David Carle said the senator “has always supported citizens’ gun rights, as well as common-sense gun safety legislation.”
Gov. Phil Scott’s office declined to comment on the resolution. Aides to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., did not respond to requests for comment.
About 60% of at least 100 delegates attending the Vermont AFL-CIO’s annual convention at Jay Peak Resort on Saturday and Sunday voted for the resolution after a vigorous debate, Van Deusen said.
He said the group, which counts 11,000 Vermont workers as members, believes it is the first major labor body in the U.S. to officially support the right to bear arms. However, Van Deusen said the Vermont AFL-CIO would understand if some of its 100 local affiliates were to take a different position on the issue, as long as they remained opposed to fascism.
Van Deusen was among the progressive “UNITED!” slate candidates who won 18 of 19 executive board seats at the organization’s convention. The UNITED! leaders said they viewed the election results as a mandate to distance themselves from the Democratic Party and build a relationship with the Vermont Progressive Party and, more broadly, with the democratic left.
