Let’s start this off by saying that this is not an April Fools joke.
The Vermont state Senate passed a package of laws on Friday that we thought we’d never see from a state with constitutional carry, as well as having some of the most lax gun laws on the books.
That all changed Friday, when they “approved raising the legal age for gun purchases, expanding background checks for private gun sales and banning high-capacity magazines and rapid-fire devices known as bump stocks.”
Republican Gov. Phil Scott said that he would sign the bill, and also acknowledged that many gun owners in the state would be very upset with the legislation. He does not, however, feel that any of the new laws step on the 2nd Amendment.
“I share it. I know why they are disappointed,” Scott said. “But I think at the end of the day, they’ll soon learn that what we have proposed, what’s being passed at this time, doesn’t intrude upon the Second Amendment.
It doesn’t take away guns, and I believe that we will get accustomed to the new normal, which is trying to address this underlying violence that we are seeing across the nation.”
In response, gun owners gathered on Saturday to protest the gun bill. An estimated 1,000 people showed up, and they were treated with free 30-round rifle magazines.
“It’s really incredible to see so much support in the Green Mountain State for gun rights, I’m just overwhelmed,” said Rob Curtis.
Curtis is the Executive Editor of Recoil Magazine, a firearms lifestyle magazine based in California. Curtis lives here in Vermont and wanted to raise awareness about Vermont’s gun restrictions bill, S.55.
“My fear is that legislators will pass knee-jerk legislation without any depth, any meaning and it’s really not going to make Vermont any safer,” Curtis said.
He contacted firearm accessory producer Magpul Industries about S.55. The bill raises the legal gun purchasing age in Vermont to 21, expands background checks to private sales, bans bump stocks and sets limits on how many bullets magazines can hold. In response, Magpul overnight, shipped 1,200 30-round magazines to Vermont before the new law is signed.
As stated before, the Governor plans to sign the bill even with the opposition. It will be interesting to see how this plays out but as of right now, it looks like Vermont is heading down a slippery slope along with other states.
The difference? Vermont is one of the last states we’d expect to take such measures.
