The unfortunate passage of S-55 and soon to be signed by Gov. Scott is nothing more than a feel good law. This will please the liberals who think that this law will change/reduce gun violence in this State and Country. Fortunately for Vermont, although we have some gun violence, we are by far very low on the scale compared to many States. Many of those states, such as Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts have some of the strictest gun laws but have the highest homicide and gun violence rates. So clearly the laws are not working.
But lets be very clear, this new law will only affect responsible gun owners because irresponsible people and criminals are not going to follow the rules.
This will not deter anyone who is trying to hurt, kill or commit another type of crime involving a weapon. If they can’t use a gun they will find other methods that have been in the news, such as knives, cleavers, bombs, cars, trucks, and chemicals.
I have been a responsible gun owner since I purchased my first gun in a private sale when I was 16. I was taught by my father and then as a police officer learned and practiced gun safety, responsibility, target and background awareness, retention and protection. I am a hunter and enjoy target shooting. None of the new law will affect me other than the bump stock, which I don’t have a problem with.
I will still own many high capacity magazines. I will still continue to buy them thru multiple sources, however this wont help the gun businesses in Vermont.
I will never seek a background check on a person who might buy a gun from me, I know my friends well enough that if I was concerned about them buying a gun I wouldn’t sell it to them. I still haven’t figured out how the State thinks they will enforce this. How will they know when private sales occur?
The 21-year-old requirement is only going to make underage buyers go to someone who is over 21, go to a different state or buy it privately. This is no different than the 21-year-old drinking age and we all know how unsuccessful that is.
I am disappointed that Gov. Scott campaigned saying he would not sign or advocate for any new gun laws. He will not get my vote in the future. This is only hurting responsible gun owners, gun businesses, shooting competitions, gun shows and other businesses that would benefit such as stores, hotels, motels and restaurants.
The incident in Parkland is tragic however there were a lot of failures that led to the loss of life but the main focus has been on the gun. The gun doesn’t work without a human pulling the trigger. Not to mention the failure of ignored intelligence and police failing to act immediately. As tragic as that event is it did not happen in this State. The passage and signing of this bill is only going to disillusion both students and adults because it will not deter gun violence.
We have thankfully never had a school shooting. The incident in Essex several years ago was before the start of the school year, there were no students and it was a result of a domestic situation. Had the victim not worked at the school it would not have happened there?
It concerns me that this is just the first step in trying to limit the type of guns we can own. There already is a law that prohibits automatic weapons. Unfortunately the liberals that know nothing about guns think that an AR15 is an automatic weapon based on how it looks not how it works.
Tonya Lawyer
Bristol