Paramilitary training ban, juvenile gun control, ‘Affordable Heat Act’ introduced into Senate

By Guy Page

The Vermont Senate, under the president pro tem leadership of gun-control advocate Phil Baruth (D-Chittenden), in the first week of the session has introduced a gun control bill aimed at reducing violent crime by youth.

S.4, sponsored by Judiciary Chair Phil Richard Sears (D-Bennington), Baruth, and Brian Campion (D-Bennington), is billed as “An act relating to reducing crimes of violence associated with juveniles and dangerous weapons.”

The bill is not only a gun control bill. For example, it would try in criminal court all persons age 14-21 “charged with human trafficking, trafficking a regulated drug, or carrying a dangerous weapon while committing a felony.” It also would “prohibit a dwelling or building owner from knowingly or recklessly permitting the premises to be used for human trafficking, selling or dispensing a regulated drug, or carrying a dangerous weapon while committing a felony.” And it would provide grant funding to communities suffering from high rates of youth violence.

The bill’s gun control measures, however, are detailed and precise, prohibiting:

  • possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number;
  • straw purchases of firearms;
  • possession of firearms by fugitives from justice;
  • possession of semiautomatic assault weapons by persons under 21 years of age.

The bill also would make juvenile case records and files available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for purposes of conducting a background check when a person under 21 years of age purchases a firearm.

The list below comprises all bills introduced into the 2023-24 Vermont Senate as of 10 AM Monday, January 19. The entries for the last two categories are subjective judgments made by Vermont Daily Chronicle and are based mostly on the subject matter, influence and committee status of the sponsor(s), and public response to date.

This information is also available copyright-free in Google Doc format. For more information, go to http://www.legislature.vermont.gov.

Bill # Introduced Title Lead Sponsor Sponsor party Committee Likely to proceed? High public interest?
S.1 1/6/2023 Act 250 and aircraft hangars Sears Democrat Natural Resources Yes Yes
S.2 1/6/2023 Payment, case management for developmental disability services Lyons Democrat Health & Welfare Yes ?
S.3 1/6/2023 prohibiting paramilitary training camps Baruth Democrat Judiciary Yes Yes
S.4 1/6/2023 Violent crime reduction for juveniles through gun control Sears Democrat Judiciary Yes Yes
S.5 1/6/2023 Affordable Heat Act mandate Bray Democrat Natural Resources Yes Yes
S.6 1/6/2023 Policeinterrogation of juveniles Sears Democrat Judiciary Yes Yes
S.7 1/6/2023 Public defenderexpanded access Hashim Democrat Judiciary Yes ?
S.8 1/6/2023 appointing counsel for person found incompetent Hashim Democrat Judiciary Yes ?

Guy Page is publisher of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. Reprinted with permission.

Image courtesy of TNR

6 thoughts on “Paramilitary training ban, juvenile gun control, ‘Affordable Heat Act’ introduced into Senate

  1. All of them are unconstitutional. The Bruen decision says they must put guns into their historical context when passing new gun laws.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/judge-rules-federal-law-banning-guns-with-serial-numbers-removed-is-unconstitutional/ar-AA12Wv0x

    They only required serial numbers on guns since October 1968.

    https://www.quora.com/What-year-did-serial-numbers-on-firearms-become-required?share=1

    And as far as making paramilitary training against the law, I was already trained by the United States military, and this is again unconstitutional. We are the militia.

    Patrick Henry: “Our militia is our ultimate safety. We can have no security without it. The great object is that every man be armed”.

    George Mason: “I ask sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials”.

    • A federal judge ruled three months ago that a law banning the removal of serial numbers from firearms is unconstitutional.

  2. The mentioned gun control measures are all covered by federal law. Why are these zealots wasting their time and our money beating a dead horse?

    • It’s called THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT
      The Dunning-Kruger Effect occurs when incompetent people not only fail to realize their incompetence but consider themselves much more competent than everyone else.
      BASICALLY, THEY’RE TOO STUPID TO KNOW THAT THEY’RE STUPID.

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