H.230 critics and advocates for the Second Amendment say they strongly support responsible gun storage — but not a state mandate, due to its unconstitutionality.
Note: The Vermont House on Wednesday preliminarily approved H.230, a bill that would place restrictions on gun storage and require a 72-hour waiting period on gun purchases. The House will vote for final approval on Thursday.
By Guy Page
H.230, a bill requiring guns be secured in locked storage or with a locking device while in the owner’s home, was scheduled to be discussed on the House floor Wednesday.
H.230, “implementing measures to reduce suicide,” was approved by both the House Human Services (7-4) and Judiciary (7-3) committees. Critics of the bill say Section 3)a)1 of H230 expressly violates the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court Heller decision because it requires gun to be stored “in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other device.”
Heller, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, said the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock [editor’s italics] makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional.”
H.230 critics and advocates for the Second Amendment say they strongly support responsible gun storage — but not a state mandate, due to its unconstitutionality.
If the House decides to defer to Supreme Court precedent, it won’t be the first time this session.
A Senate gun control bill, S.4, earlier this session was amended to remove an assault weapon ban after Second Amendment advocates convinced Judiciary Chair Richard Sears that recent Supreme Court precedent would likely result in a successful court challenge.
The more activist House Judiciary Committee declined to act on similar advice warning of a high court challenge to the home storage provisions.
If approved by the House, H.230 will return to the House floor Thursday for third and final reading. If approved by the House, H.230 will likely pass through the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Guy Page is publisher of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. Reprinted with permission.
It’s not about suicide……..
this is where we need to meet them in the battle.
They have no problem with suicide, as long as they can make lots of money from it, aka Physician Assisted Suicide….look at what canada is doing!!!!!!!
We need to have people on the ground, they own the internet.
The 2nd Amendment does not grant us the right to keep and bear arms. The 2nd Amendment denies the government the authority to infringe upon our right to keep and bear arms -Period. THEREFORE, ALL GUN CONTROL UNDER THE CONSTITUTION IS ILLEGAL!
Any infringement of the 2nd Amendment is breaking the law. They are passing laws that the Constitution forbids.
Un Constitutional as well as all the infringements of 2018 and on,the merry Marxist’s in Montpellier have proven time and time again they have no respect for the rule of law what so ever.
They also fail to realize that post Heller/Bruen gun control as it has come to be known has come to a end.
They also have proven that they care not what the legal costs that they have so willingly saddled the people of Vermont with,given time for the courts to hear the challenges they will be found to be repugnant to both the US constitution as well as Vermont’s constitution.
A locked gun is as worthless as a cop 15mins away when you need to protect yourself.
The same people pushing doc assisted suicide are trying prevent user suicide, bazzaro world. The only thing these laws do is create more criminals out of law abiding citizens.
Never vote for a leftist commie.
Simply another bill that, should it become law, I will ignore.
One thing I learned years ago in a suicide prevention class was that if a person is committed to killing themselves they will accomplish it. Regardless of the method they have to use. Most of the time it is a cry for help and they are not really committed. Then they need someone who really cares to listen and help where they can.
This is what we need to be leading with. Great commentary. This is the conversation we need to be having within our state. We do have a serious problem and it has nothing to do with guns.
Well done….it would be great to have extended articles about suicide and what is going on.
What are they saying? How is a gun owner, who wants to commit suicide, going to forget where he put the keys or combination to the security box or lock. Does that mean locking them up when he or she is home or away? What are these fools thinking about? Is the neighbor going to walk into my house, take my gun and shoot himself or, better yet, is the criminal who broke into my house going to steal my gun so that he can shoot himself? Go for it. What idiots keep voting for these idiots anyway?
These progressive fanatics never think about the consequences of their feel-good laws.
Yes, they do. They know exactly what they are doing. Incrementally trying to deconstruct the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and hoping we accept their infringements and voluntarily give up our rights.
“The only thing that limits the power of our government, is the limit of our obedience”.
Topher Field