The Vermont Legislature is quickly moving a sweeping gun ban that would have devastating consequences for all law-abiding Vermont gun owners.
With the House Judiciary Committee passing S.55 this morning on a 6-5 vote, the full House is now expected to vote on the bill Friday. Please immediately contact your state Representative and urge them to oppose S.55. To locate contact information, please click here.
The House committee debated issues which were never given a public hearing. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on Jan. 30 which was confined to three topics, but it did not include a public discussion on raising the age for long gun purchases, semi-auto bans, magazine capacity restrictions and mandatory storage of firearms. This bill has been amended several times, but it now includes background checks on all private firearm transfers, a magazine ban, raising the age to 21 for long gun purchases and a ban on bump stocks. It's also important to remember that additional components can be amended back into the bill on the House floor. Please contact your state Representative and Speaker Mitzi Johnson and respectfully request a no vote on this bill and insist that this legislation be given a public hearing. You can contact her by calling 802-828-2228, and if that line is busy, please call 802-828-2245. You can send her an email by clicking here.
We would like to thank NRA members who have already contacted their legislators. Your action has been making a difference. Unfortunately, the Sergeant at Arms line has been overwhelmed and “spam” filters have blocked many incoming phone calls and emails. We have worked to help rectify this situation, but it is critically important that gun owners continue to contact lawmakers.
At this point in the process, it is critical that these issues have a full, open and honest discussion in a public hearing. Because a public hearing is not even being considered at this point it's imperative that you call lawmakers before the Friday vote and request a "no" vote on S.55. Again, we are kindly asking that all NRA members contact Speaker Johnson to request a public hearing on S.55. Simply allowing them to debate this bill in a small committee hearing room with limited public input on new issues is a serious miscarriage of the legislative process. The critical issues being discussed in this legislation would have a dramatic impact on law-abiding gun owners. These sweeping gun bans and restrictions would be unprecedented for a state like Vermont, which enjoys one of the best firearm safety records in the country.
Again, please immediately contact your state Representative and urge them to oppose S.55. To locate contact information, please click here.