Senate to discuss public firearm carry ban soon

By Guy Page

Sen. Phil Baruth (D-Chittenden) said Senate Judiciary will decide in a week or two whether to take up S.259, prohibiting carrying semi-automatic weapons in public places including parks, public meetings, polling places, churches, restaurants, colleges, theaters and public demonstrations.

Baruth is the lead sponsor. 13 other senators (all Democrats or Progressives) are co-sponsors – but none except Baruth sit on Senate Judiciary. He said he remains strongly in favor but the decision to move forward is up to the committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Sears (D-Bennington).

At least one committee member is opposed. “I’m absolutely opposed to any new gun legislation,” Senate Judiciary member Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) said today. He supports suicide prevention legislation. “My idea is to work on the brain behind the trigger, and stop thinking the trigger is the problem.”

Guy Page

In other gun control legislation: a public hearing on H.610, restricting firearms possession in cases of domestic violence, will be held 5-7 pm Feb. 18 at the Vermont State House. The bill is under review by House Judiciary. Judge Brian Grearson has raised questions about due process during his testimony before the committee, gun rights advocates say.

Also, Sen. Baruth said a bill he introduced last year to require background checks on homeschooling adults (except students’ parents) will not proceed this year. S.9 is now in the Senate Education Committee, which he chairs.

Cloud tax bad for VT hi-tech, CEO says – the CEO for Faraday, a successful Burlington software company specializing in artificial intelligence, testified today to the House Ways & Means Committee that a proposed sales tax on cloud services would harm Vermont tech firms. H.756 and H.841 are now before the House.

Robbie Adler said it would tax only Vermont commerce, thus placing it at a disadvantage with non-Vermont customers; would tax modernity; is a compliance nightmare; is a disincentive to start a tech business in Vermont; and would actually reduce tax revenue because a growing, non-taxed tech sector would produce more overall revenue.

Changes to commercial cannabis bill changes remove local taxes, maintain local control – S.54, commercial tax and regulate cannabis, is under review this week by the House Ways & Means Committee, which oversees taxation. The latest version has a 20% combined tax (sales and excise) but not “local” municipal tax. However, it does require that commercial cannabis operations cannot be sited in a municipality with an affirmative vote by town voters to “opt in” or allow the operations. Opponents of commercial cannabis prefer “opt-in” to the “opt-out” option, which would allow operations unless voters specifically forbid them.

An attempted veto override of H107, Paid Family Leave, is scheduled to be held on the House floor this afternoon. Five Progressive lawmakers reportedly will now vote in favor, but it remains to be seen if there are the 100 votes necessary to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto.

Correction: the Chairman of the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) is Rep. Robin Chesnut-Tangerman (P-Middletown Springs), and the vice-chair is Sen. Mark MacDonald (D-Orange). The chair and vice-chair were incorrectly identified in yesterday’s story on a candidate for state auditor sponsoring a bill to pump the brakes on climate change regulation.

Read more of Guy Page’s reports at the Vermont Daily Chronicle.

Image courtesy of TNR

25 thoughts on “Senate to discuss public firearm carry ban soon

  1. The only hand guns a person can reasonably carry is a semi-automatic. slim profile.

    A revolver requires a bulky outside holster – wild west style.

    • I have concealed carry and have a Bond Arms derringer 3″ barrel over and under that fits into the palm of your hand and pocket. It takes 45 and 410. If the 410 noise don’t get them, the 45 is next. Great thing for woman as well.

      Also have the Judge, same calibrators. So-called as judges have them under their robes.

  2. Look at us — commenting on the details of this intrusive law. It’s like they’ve got us discussing how they are going to arrange stuff in our under ware drawer. Isn’t the issue that …THEY JUST DON’T BELONG THERE.

  3. These politicians are truly clueless. They love to create and solve problems that don’t exist. God knows the last time I was out to dinner I was struck by how many people were in there armed with grenade launcher capable ar-15’s. ( s.259 actually lists this as a restricted weapon ).
    If you carefully read the section describing the “pistol” ban it seems to imply that most common semi auto. pistols would be exempt..because of the way it’s phrased – there’s an “and” thrown in there which tells me that to meet the banned weapon requirement the pistol would have to have at least one of the 5 listed accessories to qualify.
    To me the way the bill is written means that a common semi automatic carry gun would not be banned due to the fact that the magazine is contained inside the grip. The fact that there’s an “and” not a “or” put in the sentence tells me that the banned weapon would as I said also have to have one of the listed accessories.. If anyone could clarify this it would be much appreciated.

    • None of them belong anywhere near my home or firearms period. that is why I’m going to my town select board meeting on monday to try to convince them to consider us a 2nd. amendment “sanctuary” town. We all need to do this.

  4. What is more important to control? A mental case that shoots up the innocent (limited number and distant geographically) at a gathering or a mental case that is in power to pass bills that affect the whole populace.

    The Flatlanders that moved to gun safe VT and pass bills to control the natives are far more dangerous. Copied research:

    “If you include state and municipal gun laws, there are closer to 60,000 unique gun laws, just in the United States. And keep in mind, there are constantly new ones being added in all those categories”.

    Baruth and company don’t read, research, but desire to get notoriety, feel good, power crazed (important), seek to control, elevate their miserable life (into thinking they had an life accomplishment), pea brained, be taxpayer funded (salary & perks). They are low life and couldn’t produce anything contributing to society.

    And they are backed by stupidios that also have little life values. The Chittenden County Mafia.

  5. The state of Vermont’s legislature is going overboard with their need to propose more gun control . This time limiting me as to where I can carry a semi automatic gun such as parks, restaurants, churches or any other public place. This is absurd . This is saying to me I can’t carry a semi automatic gun anywheres. So I will be able to carry a derringer or maybe a wheel gun (a revolver) better change your wording. How will this be enforced? If its concealed how would anyone know I’m breaking the law? Define public place , to me anyplace the public can move around freely such as for example Church Street in Burlington would be considered a public place. You people are trampling on my 2nd Amendments right to own and possess a gun.

  6. Massive civil disobedience is now vital. We need to make it clear to all the tyrants in Montpelier that will will not abide by their unconstitutional edicts!

  7. I understand the thrust to cut down on shootings. I mean we all agree dead folks are not a good thing and government needs to do something. Right? We seem to have reached some consensus (or at least the loudest voices tell us) that our democratic…majority rule…legislative process is the means to fix this. We can get the population to submit “…to save lives” “…”for the common good”. Perhaps we should consider a different slant on the problem. Maybe it’s not so much guns as free flowing testosterone. Let’s ask our representatives to start curbing this. Our “pursuit of happiness” wouldn’t be infringe significantly. I mean, I don’t think testes are protected in the constitution. And I’m sure, for the common good, our fellow citizens would submit to some sort of limiting “cuff” technology…to start with. If one life can be saved wouldn’t it be worth it?

  8. Oh sure Baruth, let’s just tell all the people with a mental disorder who may be considering their moment of fame that Vermont’s parks, public meetings, polling places, churches, restaurants, colleges, theaters and public demonstrations are gun free zones, so fire at will.

    Once again our law abiding gun owners are having restrictions place on “them” even thought they have done nothing wrong.

    Senator, you don’t have a clue about the state you are representing.

  9. Oh well if the ban on semi automatic pistols get passed I guess I will just have to get used to carrying three revolvers with six rounds in each. That way I can beat the semi-auto ban and the magazine ban. Now where to put them, where to put them ? I wish Doc Holiday was around so I could ask.

    WHAT TRAITORS SIGN MATTERS NOT !

    • Who’s going to enforce this abomination? Are the State Police going to set up checkpoints at churches and restaurants?

      When tyranny becomes law
      Rebellion becomes duty.

  10. STATE v. ROSENTHAL (1903). This abomination will go DIRECTLY to the state supreme court if it passes — which it NEVER, EVER should.

    Phil Scott, you’d better veto this should it come to it (and sadly, it may).

  11. Instead of challenging every tax proposal as they come up, I’ve got a better idea. ELIMINATE the Ways and Means committee!!!! No more tax legislation.

  12. It seems as if the totalitarian Marxist’s in Montpelier hold nothing but discuss for the Vermont state Constitution, to say nothing of the U S Constitution,as this proposal would directly violate Article 16.

    They may have not heard of another violation of article 16 in 1903 by the city of Rutland, STATE v. ROSENTHAL.

    (Supreme Court of Vermont. Rutland. May 30, 1903.).

    In the courts decision the justices found that it is repugnant to and inconsistent with the Constitution and the laws of this state.

    https://guncite.com/court/state/55a610.html

    In case the uneducated totalitarians have overlooked this,the wording of article 16. as they swore a oath to the Vermont Constitution before they assumed office.

    Const. c. 1, art. 16, declares that the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the state.

  13. Senate to discuss public firearm carry ban soon, and why is this needed ??

    Oh yeah, that because it’s proposed by rabid anti-gunner Sen. Phil Baruth
    (D-Chittenden), so that kind of answers the question………

    I guess he’s pretty good at writing “fictional stories “, and this bill S259 is
    just another, solving a fictional problem.

    Wake up people, these liberals in the statehouse, don’t want Vermont to be
    Vermont ……….. It’s all about the agenda and Bloomberg’s $$$

    I’m not sure, but I bet he’s not a true Vermonter and he knows best for us !!

      • He’s from NY. 23 of Vermont senators are not from Vermont. Carpetbaggers with virtue signaling egos so they feel good about themselves. They probably couldn’t make the grade in their home states and here they are screwing up Vermont.

        • Native Vermonters’ have been to welcoming to the invading liberals
          for years. This is why we are at the point we are at now. We need to let them know that we are still around and tired of their policies and political leftist thinking.

          Deep roots and common sense matters.

          • Just to be clear, I am a native Vermonter and have never voted for a carpetbagger. I have been voting against everything they stand for. Our Governor from Barre, Vermont spent 16 years rubbing elbows with these invasive species. They don’t like his policies but they kiss his ass when he bashes our president. Those who have moved into Vermont and live our lifestyle I have no problem with. Those who come here to boast their ego and change the state into the liberal place they escaped from are an infection making the state body ill and must be removed from office before they finally kill the host.

          • Vermont seems to attract Leftist’s,Marxist’s,Anarchist’s like a magnet,like there is no tomorrow.

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