Gun Owners Enjoy Another Positive Session in Vermont!

The Vermont Legislature wrapped up the legislative session late last week, with gun owners and sportsmen gaining ground and animal rights extremists handed defeat. 

The Vermont Federation of Sportsmen, backed by NRA-ILA, pushed and saw passage of House Bill 313, which reforms current law to allow the sale of long guns in Vermont by licensed dealers, to residents of non-contiguous states. The new laws also allows Vermonters to purchase long-guns in non-contiguous states. Attempts by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to attach hostile language negatively impacting sportsmen who own and use hunting dogs were unsuccessful.

Law-abiding gun owners and shooting enthusiasts will also be happy to hear that a provision pushed by the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen and NRA-ILA, which would require Vermont to set up a process by which Pitman-Robertson grants can be applied for specifically for the development of shooting ranges, was included in the state budget. The budget has been approved by the legislature and will soon be in the hands of Governor Jim Douglas (R).

Also in the “win” column for hunters is the failure of animal rights extremists to garner support for Senate Bill 113, which sought to ban the long-standing tradition of "coyote contests" in Vermont. Senate Bill 113 sought to ban these hunting contests (similar to a buck hunt contest), and if SB 113 had passed, deer pools or fishing derbies certainly could have been next.  Coyotes are predators that kill farm livestock and deer, and have been known to attack children. Thankfully, attempts to outlaw these hunting contests, which promote ecological balance by contributing to the culling of the coyote population, were not allowed to advance.  

Thank you to the law-abiding gun owners, hunters and sportsmen of Vermont who voiced their opposition and support.. You made your voices heard!