A group of young Vermonters and gun control activists gathered at the Vermont Statehouse Tuesday morning to call on lawmakers to pass several proposed gun-control bills.
The demonstration came in reaction to a school shooting in Florida last week and an incident in Fair Haven in which authorities stopped a would-be school shooter before any violence took place.
“Fix this before my kid is texting me from under a desk,” read a sign held by a demonstrator standing in a light rain on the Statehouse steps.
The demonstration was organized by GunSense Vermont, but the presence of students from the Vermont Commons School brought the message home. The students called on lawmakers to pass new gun laws before more shootings take place.
In a slow, quiet procession, the students wove through the halls of the Statehouse bearing signs that read “protect kids not guns” and “right to own a gun or surviving school.”
Demonstrators said they were hoping to make gun control an unavoidable topic in the Statehouse. Three gun control bills are currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee. One would mandate background checks for all gun sales. Another would allow police to confiscate weapons when they make an arrest for domestic violence. A third bill would create a court process allowing police to confiscate guns from those ruled to be an “extreme risk.”
The universal background check bill has been stuck in the committee since last year and hasn’t moved because three of the panel’s five members oppose it. (A 2015 attempt to mandate background checks was also thwarted by a 3-2 vote in the same committee.) The current bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Phil Baruth (D/P-Chittenden), said last week that the Senate should be ashamed for doing “jack shit” about gun violence.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger attended the Tuesday morning rally in Montpelier and said student involvement at the event gave him hope that the years-long political deadlock around gun control would come to an end.
“It is very hopeful to be standing with so many of you this morning,” Weinberger said to a crowd in front of the Statehouse, “and particularly to be standing with our kids and children who have been so eloquent on this issue. That, I hope, is what will finally change this terrible dynamic and lead to action.”
Weinberger joined other advocates in calling for statewide, mandatory universal background checks, as he has since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012.
“The rest of the world simply does not tolerate this kind of massacre of its children,” Weinberger said. “The United States and the state of Vermont should not either.”
But if lawmakers don’t pass any statewide measures, Weinberger said it’s unacceptable to block local gun control. Burlington voters in 2014 approved a measure banning guns in bars, requiring residents to lock them up when not in use and allowing cops to confiscate them from those accused of domestic violence. The legislature has so far refused to approve the necessary changes to the city’s charter, blocking enactment of the proposed policies.
“If Montpelier can’t or won’t get the job done, at the very least this Statehouse should allow cities and towns that want to move forward on their own to protect our children, our domestic violence victims and our police officers,” the mayor said. “We should be allowed to take responsibility and do that as our own communities.”
Weinberger says a statewide policy would make more sense, but he’s already hedging his bets.
“I have begun conversations about whether we could bring [the charter changes] back this year,” he said in an interview with Seven Days Monday. “I do plan to spend some time on this.”
John Walters contributed reporting.
Related Stories
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined” (Patrick Henry, 3 J. Elliot, Debates in the Several State Conventions 45, 2d ed. Philadelphia, 1836)
“The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” — (Thomas Jefferson)
Thommy- banning gun ownership for anyone who becomes depressed and has suicidal feelings would lead to people NOT seeking treatment for their mental health
“common sense” gun laws are not easily defined nor would they solve the underlying problem of schools being soft targets.
As for your citing of Sydney Beach- You might note that they use a shark proof netting system to stop any potential danger from being allowed to get in the vicinity of people swimming.
At our public schools we hang a “Gun free zone” sign and call it good
Imagine what kind of carnage would result if Sydney bay was to replace their netting system with signs saying “shark free zone” ???
Common Sense?
These students are inspirational. Keep it up, gang! I will only vote for those who don’t conveniently ignore the first four words of the Second Amendment: “A **WELL-REGULATED** Militia”.
Bradd other countries dont claim to be the home of the free and the birthplace of the constitution that states the people have the right and responsibility to own firearms. So as I stated earlier treat mental illness and stop the violence. And I promise you the framers of the constitution would still be pro 2nd amendment because they understood history and knew that in order for the government to be for the people the people needed to keep the government in check and that means having firearms. If you dont like our countries laws than feel free to move to one of the countries you are referring too. But dont cry when you loose your freedom.
First of all Citizen, it’s HIPAA. Second of all, HIPAA was modified by an executive rule that allowed for the inclusion of mental health (involuntary institutionalization) in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. There is no reason why HIPAA cannot be further modified to allow for the inclusion of more information concerning someone’s mental health status. Individuals taking antipsychotics probably should not be allowed to have a gun. Individuals that exhibit suicidality probably should not be allowed to have a gun. HOWEVER, no such rule can allow for the widespread reporting of mental health status – only an act of Congress would do such a thing. Currently there are bills that have been introduced in both chambers, however, they continually languish in committee. Why? The NRA and the gun lobby. They feel that any sensible action in terms of guns represent an erosion of gun rights.
Lastly, the Second Amendment does NOT clearly state that individuals have the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment reads “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The last time I had a grammar lesson was a decade ago, but something tells me the clauses in that text make interpretation a little dubious and not so clear cut.
So what have these school kids learned from all this? So far it looks like their lesson is this;
Apparently the kid that did the shooting has no responsibility in this AT ALL. I wonder if any of these kids even know the Florida shooters name? Doesnt matter I guess, the black metal thing did it.
Everybody but themselves, their parents and the school is responsible for their safety. They are never responsible for themselves & their own actions.
Any of them being harmed by someone with a gun, makes the entire country complicit in that crime. But if they are harmed with firebombs, meat cleavers, machete, chainsaws, cars, explosives, they should just grow up and deal with it, thats the way the world is. Or, attack people who own guns some more.
The minute they get emotional, they should abandon all logic and reason and start spouting off about a subject where they have no understanding at all and use rhetoric and hysteria to assault people they dont even know.
Respect for other peoples rights and general respect for your neighbors is an antiquated idea. Replace respect with intolerance and hate whenever its convenient. Especially when youre protesting against intolerance and hate, or black metal things.
Being used as a political weapon is fun and educational.
Snow Creek:
The vast majority of kids at the Vermont Commons School are from Vermont itself. Listed on their website, they note that they have students from the following areas: VT, Keene Valley and Plattsburgh, NY. Also, what does someone’s geographical location have to do with this? The tuition these kids pay have roughly the same economic impact, if not more, than the average individual that lives here. Why don’t they get a say in the future of this state?
Also, people should freak out when there’s a shark attack every single day just about. Look at Sydney Bay when it comes to sharks – people don’t swim because it’s dangerous.
Penelope I agree with some of your points but you seem to be a little misinformed about our nations current gun laws. 1st background checks are already mandatory in all 50 states. Unfortunately mental heath records are off limits due to HIPA not by any actions of the NRA. That does need to change mentally ill people do not need access to firearms of any sort. 2nd outlawing guns is not the answer to protecting kids from harm. In todays world the internet does more harm to kids than any gun by itself has ever done. Kids are desensitized when they spend their time watching violent videos and playing war games on their xboxes instead of playing sports and learning teamwork and respect for others. 3rd gun violence is not a political problem and can not be blamed on republicans or democrats. It is a social problem that needs to be addressed by everyone. Im sorry you feel that I might be your enemy because I support the 2nd amendment but I promise you Im not. As a gun owner it kills me when I hear about a shooting of any kind because I know that its not the guns that are the problem its the mentality Ill person holding the gun that is the problem. Fixing mental illness stops the violence. Peace be with you Penelope.
It’s sad that the students aren’t taught the Constitution in school. If they were they would know that the 2nd amendment is absolute. If they want to change it they must call for a constitutional convention and get it changed legally.
And any elected official whether they agree or not they have taken an oath to defend and protect the Constitution. To vote to impose any gun law without a constitutional amendment is a violation of their oath.
@FreedomToThink
“Public notice has changed too. This kind of one sided, biased misinformation that can reach across the country in seconds is not what was intended with the 1st amendment. The founders never could have foreseen the incredible damage such propaganda can do to so many people. Especially the indoctrinated & hysterical. We need to do something about this. People need to be held accountable for what they say in the public domain.”
Have to wonder if the founders would feel the same way about the 2nd amendment?