By Guy Page

S.4, the ‘replacement’ gun control bill created last week in the wake of the House’s inability to muster 100 votes to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of S.30, passed the House Thursday night.

Now, S.4 faces a possible veto threat of its own. It passed the House by a 90-42 margin: 10 votes shy of the 100 needed to override a gubernatorial veto, should it occur.

Because the Senate-originated S.4 passed the House without amendment, it does not need to return to the Senate. Instead, it will be sent directly to Gov. Phil Scott for his approval or veto.  Whether he will turn thumbs up or down is uncertain.

Scott vetoed S.30, the main gun control bill of the 2021-22 biennium, because, he said, Vermont already has enough gun control laws, and because S.30’s 30-day-waiting period for federal background check review was excessive.

After S.4 limited the waiting period to seven days, Gov. Scott’s legal team signed off on the bill. However, that was before Sen. Joe Benning raised a serious constitutional problem with S.4: it goes further than any other Vermont law in allowing the government to seize personal property without notification.

“Even though proponents claim it is ‘just temporary,’ this bill clearly eliminates due process of law by depriving someone of their property on a mere accusation, almost always at a time when the owner of that property has no idea a court proceeding is taking place,” Benning said. “This represents a significant shift in constitutional law and it should not go unnoticed. My greater fear is that this establishes a precedent for the next attempt to erode constitutional rights.”

Thursday’s House roll call on S4:

Achey of Middletown Springs Nay
Ancel of Calais Yea
Anthony of Barre City Yea
Arrison of Weathersfield Yea
Austin of Colchester Yea
Bartholomew of Hartland Yea
Beck of St. Johnsbury Yea
Birong of Vergennes Yea
Black of Essex Yea
Bluemle of Burlington Yea
Bock of Chester Yea
Bongartz of Manchester Yea
Bos-Lun of Westminster Yea
Brady of Williston Yea
Brennan of Colchester Nay
Briglin of Thetford Yea
Brown of Richmond Yea
Brownell of Pownal Absent
Brumsted of Shelburne Yea
Burditt of West Rutland Absent
Burke of Brattleboro Yea
Burrows of West Windsor Yea
Campbell of St. Johnsbury Yea
Canfield of Fair Haven Nay
Chase of Colchester Yea
Christie of Hartford Yea
Cina of Burlington Absent
Coffey of Guilford Yea
Colburn of Burlington Yea
Colston of Winooski Absent
Conlon of Cornwall Yea
Copeland Hanzas of Bradford Yea
Corcoran of Bennington Yea
Cordes of Lincoln Yea
Cupoli of Rutland City Nay
Dickinson of St. Albans Town Nay
Dolan of Essex Yea
Dolan of Waitsfield Yea
Donahue of Northfield Nay
Donnally of Hyde Park Yea
Durfee of Shaftsbury Yea
Elder of Starksboro Absent
Emmons of Springfield Yea
Fagan of Rutland City Yea
Feltus of Lyndon Nay
Gannon of Wilmington Nay
Garofano of Essex Yea
Goldman of Rockingham Yea
Goslant of Northfield Nay
Grad of Moretown Yea
Graham of Williamstown Nay
Gregoire of Fairfield Nay
Hango of Berkshire Nay
Harrison of Chittenden Nay
Helm of Fair Haven Nay
Higley of Lowell Nay
Hooper of Burlington Nay
Hooper of Montpelier Yea
Hooper of Randolph Nay
Houghton of Essex Yea
Howard of Rutland City Yea
James of Manchester Yea
Jerome of Brandon Yea
Jessup of Middlesex Yea
Kascenska of Burke Nay
Killacky of South Burlington Yea
Kimbell of Woodstock Yea
Kitzmiller of Montpelier Absent
Kornheiser of Brattleboro Yea
Krowinski of Burlington Not Voting
Labor of Morgan Absent
LaClair of Barre Town Nay
LaLonde of South Burlington Yea
Lanpher of Vergennes Yea
Laroche of Franklin Nay
Lefebvre of Newark Nay
Lefebvre of Orange Nay
Leffler of Enosburgh Nay
Lippert of Hinesburg Yea
Long of Newfane Yea
Marcotte of Coventry Nay
Martel of Waterford Absent
Masland of Thetford Yea
Mattos of Milton Absent
McCarthy of St. Albans City Yea
McCormack of Burlington Yea
McCoy of Poultney Nay
McCullough of Williston Yea
McFaun of Barre Town Nay
Morgan of Milton Nay
Morgan of Milton Nay
Morris of Springfield Yea
Morrissey of Bennington Nay
Mrowicki of Putney Yea
Mulvaney-Stanak of Burlington Yea
Murphy of Fairfax Yea
Nicoll of Ludlow Yea
Nigro of Bennington Yea
Norris of Sheldon Nay
Norris of Shoreham Nay
Notte of Rutland City Yea
Noyes of Wolcott Nay
O’Brien of Tunbridge Yea
Ode of Burlington Yea
Page of Newport City Nay
Pajala of Londonderry Yea
Palasik of Milton Absent
Parsons of Newbury Nay
Partridge of Windham Yea
Patt of Worcester Absent
Pearl of Danville Absent
Peterson of Clarendon Nay
Pugh of South Burlington Yea
Rachelson of Burlington Yea
Rogers of Waterville Yea
Rosenquist of Georgia Nay
Satcowitz of Randolph Yea
Scheu of Middlebury Yea
Scheuermann of Stowe Nay
Shaw of Pittsford Nay
Sheldon of Middlebury Yea
Sibilia of Dover Yea
Sims of Craftsbury Yea
Small of Winooski Yea
Smith of Derby Nay
Smith of New Haven Absent
Squirrell of Underhill Yea
Stebbins of Burlington Yea
Stevens of Waterbury Yea
Strong of Albany Nay
Sullivan of Dorset Absent
Surprenant of Barnard Yea
Taylor of Colchester Yea
Terenzini of Rutland Town Absent
Till of Jericho Yea
Toleno of Brattleboro Yea
Toof of St. Albans Town Nay
Townsend of South Burlington Yea
Troiano of Stannard Yea
Vyhovsky of Essex Yea
Walker of Swanton Absent
Walz of Barre City Yea
Webb of Shelburne Yea
White of Bethel Absent
White of Hartford Yea
Whitman of Bennington Yea
Williams of Granby Nay
Wood of Waterbury Yea
Yacovone of Morristown Yea
Yantachka of Charlotte Yea

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