The Next Anti-Gun Target: Vermont

The latest target for the anti-gun / anti-Second Amendment crusaders is the State of Vermont. Bill S.55 is moving through the state legislature and aims to impose a wide range of gun control measures in the Green Mountain State. This despite the state having the third lowest crime rate and being one of the safest places to live in the nation. It also has some of the least restrictive firearms laws. In other words, it’s a prime target.

I’ll be honest; this is personal for me and I’m going to rant a bit. I grew up in Vermont. I went to pubic school and college here. I raised a child here. I had my first and many other jobs and started and ended my career in law enforcement here before moving to California. To see this kind of assault on the Constitutional rights is a slap in the face of every law-abiding Vermonter.

Why now? That’s easy, this has been planned for some time. Vermont’s lack of firearm restrictions above what is imposed at the Federal level have made it a ripe target. With a growing progressive population in Chittenden County and other higher population cities, it was only a matter of time for the right crisis to bring it to the table. It is straight out of the playbook of current Chicago Mayor and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s playbook of “You never let a serious crisis go to waste”. When emotions are high and fresh, logic and reason go out the window and everyone wants to be seen as the one to “do something”.

If all that is being proposed looks like what has been done in California, it’s not a coincidence. The new proposals have all the characteristics of work done by the Giffords Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence in San Francisco. This group works with gun control zealots everywhere from my local city council to state and federal representatives around the country. They rank Vermont an F in regards to firearm laws and say this about the state:

“Vermont did not adopt any significant gun legislation in 2017. State lawmakers can raise Vermont’s F grade by enacting universal background checks, passing an extreme risk protection order law, requiring a permit to carry guns in public, regulating firearm dealers, or restricting firearm access by domestic abusers.”

So here’s a highlight of what you can expect if the state enacts ANY gun control measures:

Universal background checks, a.k.a. universal firearms registration are a staple of the gun control elitists. No more private sales or gifting firearms between family members. Once registered, you can expect more restrictions on what you can do with your firearms, such as mandated unloaded & locked storage in your home.

Vermont’s Constitutional Carry, concealed or open, will be gone. It will be replaced by a “may issue” program where your “need” to carry a firearm for self-defense will be evaluated at the sole personal discretion of the local sheriff or police chief. In progressive / anti-gun areas, your need will be determined not to be in excess of the protection currently offered by law enforcement. There will be no appeal.

So-called “extreme risk protection orders” will allow others to petition a court and have your firearms removed from you without any prior notification or your ability to present a defense. After the fact, you must prove your sanity and / or lack of being a threat to a court to have your Second Amendment rights restored. Initially this power will be granted only to your family members and the police. Later on, the list will be expanded to include your employer and co-workers, teachers and any educational institution employee.

So-called “assault weapons” will be banned from purchase. What is an “assault weapon”? Well, that kinda depends. Every state that has an “assault weapon” ban has a different definition and the definition is always being expanded. Initially it will be just the scary looking ones with so-called “evil features” like an adjustable stock, pistol grip and flash hider. As time goes on, the definition will be expanded to include featureless semi-automatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine, including .22 caliber. The next step will be everything semi-automatic with detachable magazines, including handguns.

For those who own “assault weapons” now, they must be registered with the state. This will bring a host of restrictions including how the firearm is stored and transported as well as an outright restriction on selling or passing the firearm along to your descendants. The ownership of “assault weapons” will end with the current generation of owners, however it is more likely the state will decide they are too dangerous to own long before that and order their surrender.

So-called “large capacity magazines”, generally defined as having a capacity more than 10 rounds (although this varies by state), will be outlawed for sale. Current owners will be “grandfathered”, but they can never sell or pass on the magazine to descendants. Much like “assault weapons”, the intent is to end their ownership within the current generation. However, as those in California found out last year, “grandfathered” ownership was a lie and all these previously legal to possess magazines must now be disposed of.

Firearms retailers will face a host of new regulations and licensing on everything from store locations, storage of firearms, hours of business, the make and model of firearms they can sell, as well as ammunition. Those who wish to purchase ammunition will need to have an ammunition buyer’s license and may only get it from certified vendors, face-to-face in the state, after a background check. Purchasing out-of-state or by the Internet will be illegal. Future ‘enhancements’ to the system will include limits on the amount of ammunition you can purchase in a given time period as well as restricting ammunition purchases to calibers of firearms you have registered with the state.

If you don’t believe this is where things are headed, I invite you to take a look at California, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Each and every item I listed, and SO much more, have already been done or is currently in the works. It is all part of the long term strategy to systematically restrict and eliminate private firearm ownership.

While you’re at it, take a look at the cities and states with the strictest gun control laws and you’ll find the highest crime rates in the country. Not just “gun violence”, violence of all kinds — which are far more deadly and common than “gun violence” — as well as every other kind of crime. Gun control elitists explain all this away as being due to “loopholes” in the laws they themselves enacted. So they implement more gun control. If gun control is so damn effective, why is it they are always pushing for MORE gun control? A key point to remember: Gun control does absolutely nothing to increase public safety and the answer to fix that shortcoming is always to implement more gun control.

Can this be stopped in Vermont? Absolutely, but it’s going to require every single Vermont firearm owner getting involved. If Vermonters fall into the trap that other states’ firearm owners have, they may as well give up now. That trap is allowing the population to be fragmented. By taking an incremental approach to gun control — initially only going after a small list of firearms or owners — the rest of the population doesn’t feel like they have anything to lose. Bird and deer hunters, cowboy action shooters and those who only have handguns may think bans on so-called “assault weapons” are a fair compromise, only to find out later on their rights and firearms will be targeted too.

Don’t expect some club or association to come riding in on a white horse and save the day. This is on Vermonters to stop BEFORE it becomes law. Challenging the law in court after it has been signed is a crapshoot where the likelihood of success is slim at best. The time to get hold of your friends, neighbors and acquaintances is right now. Everyone needs to be involved and tell your representatives to vote NO on all gun control efforts in Vermont. And if they don’t listen, then it’s time to replace them.

There are patriots in Vermont fighting this assault on Constitutional rights, and simple logic and reasoning right now. And unless the rest of the state wants to suffer the fate of law-abiding firearm owners in other states, every Vermonter needs to join them.

Godspeed Vermonters.

Bob

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