Vermont: Burlington City Council Holding Final Public Hearing on Gun Control Proposals on Monday

On Monday, January 27, the Burlington City Council will hold its final public hearing to consider three gun control proposals.  City residents will vote on the proposed charter changes on Town Meeting Day, March 4.  The proposals being considered are resolution charter changes concerning:

• Ban on Firearms in any Establishment with a Liquor License – This proposal would ban all firearms in any establishment that serves alcohol, including popular restaurants.

• Safe Storage of Firearms – This proposal goes so far as to micromanage gun rights inside a person’s home and would render firearms all but useless for self-defense.  This is nearly identical to an annual bill that has been introduced in the Vermont Legislature and failed to garner so much as a committee vote.

• Police Seizure of Firearms during Domestic Abuse Incident – Seeks to potentially remove an individual’s Second Amendment rights without due process.  This proposed ordinance would lead to the seizure of an individual’s property without a conviction.

These relentless attacks on the Second Amendment attempt to usurp powers reserved for the state Legislature.  Mayor Miro Weinberger and anti-gun city council members refuse to give up after months of meetings and opposition from Vermont gun owners.  Vermont has a firearms preemption statute which prevents local municipalities from adopting their own restrictive gun control laws.  The Vermont Sportsmen’s Bill of Rights was enacted in 1988 to protect the state against a patchwork of confusing and conflicting gun control laws, guaranteeing uniform state gun laws.

The state Legislature reconvened on January 7, to begin its 2014 legislative session.  Vermont gun owners were able to successfully block several anti-gun bills introduced in 2013; however, anti-gun lawmakers will likely revisit many of the same failed ideas this year.

Please attend next Monday’s city council meeting and voice opposition to Burlington’s circumvention of state law.  The meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the following location:

Contois Auditorium

Burlington City Hall

149 Church Street

Burlington, VT 05401

In addition, please call and e-mail the Burlington City Council as well as Mayor Miro Weinberger and tell them to stop attacking your constitutional rights and the Vermont Sportsmen’s Bill of Rights.

Contact information for Burlington City Councilors can be found here.

Mayor Miro Weinberger

(802) 865-7272

[email protected]