Mr. Swenson’s letter on crime in Vermont is right on the mark. Our small towns in Orange County are now feeling the effects of crime as it spreads out from the major cities like New York, New Haven and Hartford, Conn., and Springfield and Holyoke, Mass., to our cities like Montpelier and Barre.
It was inevitable that we would see it in our rural communities where law enforcement is at a minimum. But we are being hammered by the liberal Democrat/Progressive logic that is taking its toll on our working population and the retired citizens also. I guess it may have to get worse before the voters wake up and give the conservatives a chance.
The way the Legislature has passed firearms legislation lately to make a solution for a problem we don’t have is ridiculous. We have had semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and pistols for over 120 years. Now they are a perceived problem? We didn’t have a problem until drugs and no punishment for crimes committed against society were added to the mix. The 72-hour waiting period to receive a firearm after the instant background check is completed is ridiculous.
The reason it is called instant is because that’s what it was designed to be. The deterrent-to-suicide excuse has no basis because the amount of instances where a person bought a gun and went home and committed suicide in a 10-year period in Vermont is one, per FBI statistics.
So, instead of taking more of our Second Amendment rights away, how about taking the rights of criminals away because they committed crimes against us? We are paying a heavy price for our lack of laws being enforced as written. Vermont is in trouble.
David Leggio
Chelsea
