The state Senate appears to be on course to pass legislation requiring universal background checks for gun purchases. The prospect seemed distant only a few days ago, but news of a narrowly averted mass school shooting has shaken the political landscape.
A background check bill, S.6, is now before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Three of its five members are known to oppose the bill, including committee chair Dick Sears (D-Bennington), so he hasn’t brought it to a vote. But Sears says he is open to a procedural move allowing the full Senate to vote on the idea as soon as next week.
“I want to stay true to what I believe, but I don’t want to hold up something that may have majority support,” Sears said Wednesday. He added that he believes a universal background check bill would gain majority support in the Senate. “I think everything changed in Fair Haven, to be honest.”
Last Thursday, 18-year-old Jack Sawyer of Poultney was detained after two people informed police of disturbing behavior and text messages indicating he planned to carry out a mass shooting at Fair Haven Union High School. The police affidavit submitted in court was sobering in its detail.
Gov. Phil Scott reacted to the news with a substantial change in tone. Lawmakers heard from constituents over the weekend and returned to the Statehouse with gun issues suddenly atop everyone’s agenda.
Sears said his committee will pass one gun-related measure this week: S.221, which would allow police to seek “extreme risk” court orders for anyone who might pose an imminent threat to themselves or others. After obtaining such an order, police could remove weapons from the person’s possession.
Sears has no plans to bring the background check bill to a committee vote, but he would not object if other senators insert its language into a different bill through a floor amendment.
Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint (D-Windham) confirmed that leadership is working out the details of such a move, which would likely happen next week. When lawmakers returned to work Tuesday, she said, “It was clear that people who wanted universal background checks needed to know that leadership was committed to holding a floor vote.
“It’s gonna be a close vote,” she added, floating the prospect of Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman having to play tiebreaker. “I haven’t surveyed the caucus; we’re giving people a chance to process everything that’s happened.”
In just the past few days, she said, senators who were unsure have shifted in favor of a background check bill. Currently, federal law requires background checks at gun shops but not for private sales. The Senate would be voting to end that exception.
Sears remains personally opposed to closing the private-sale loophole, saying that it would “criminalize behavior that’s been going on in Vermont for 200 years.” But he sees the writing on the wall.
“I’d like to see it move over to the House, let them deal with it, and see where it goes with the governor,” Sears said.
Democratic House leaders appear confident that a background check bill — and Sears’ extreme risk order bill — would pass in their chamber. Scott has previously opposed universal background checks, but on Friday he indicated a new openness to gun legislation.
“The landscape has changed, the way the #MeToo movement changed the conversation around sexual harassment,” noted Balint. There’s widespread sentiment among lawmakers that taking no action on guns and safety would be unacceptable.
The question is no longer, “Will the legislature pass any gun bills?” It’s now, “Which gun bills will pass?”
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A_Trout… I am for protecting our rights regardless of what took place it is not right for someone to take my rights away
Get your warm fuzzy feeling now because this will do absolutely nothing to protect our children from the disasters and mentally ill people who want to cause damage to others
I’m out of the way I refuse to get in line like a sheep who is being led to his Slaughter…
I’ll stand back and watch the damage caused by the fools that are too simple to see what is happening and willing to give up their rights
I want to see you on here commenting when a criminal gets a gun and does his damage with no resistance because you have taken guns away from good people
When you take guns away from people what will be the next tool of massive destruction to others.. cars… oh wait they already use them don’t they
I guess would ever idiotic moves you use to try to claim you have solved the problem somebody will come up with an answer to those moves
Richard Ley, eyes always on the ball. Worried about the future when some kid will have bionic hands that can murder 15 minutes and will we regulate it.
Richard Ley, you keep worrying about something that MIGHT happen in the future. The rest of us are dealing with trying to keep our kids from dying right NOW. Get in line or get out of the way.
I want to know what Bill our legislature will pass once they ban AR-15 and once they pass a law to take weapons from people without due process and once they pass stricter background checks in Vermont which is the safest state in the nation.
I know these do-gooders say they will put an end to suicide and to bad people getting guns and shooting other people but anyone with an ounce of Common Sense nose based on what we are seeing taking place in America the none of this is true.
We know the people that want to commit suicide commit suicide by police or by hanging or by cutting their wrist or any other methods they choose.
We even though the people that want to commit suicide drive cars and two other people not only killing themselves but killing innocent people along with them.
People that are hell-bent on achieving their goals however devious they are are going to do that in spite of the feel-good laws that are legislators pass.
When we allow our lawmakers to pass these laws it only diminishes our rights as Citizens in Vermont