Montpelier
Legislation before the House would expand background checks to private gun sales, ban high-capacity magazines and bump stocks, and increase the legal age to purchase firearms to 21 from 18.
The measure was narrowly approved by a 6-5 vote in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, and some legislators expect that tight vote will be repeated on the House floor.
Some left-leaning lawmakers say they’re preparing to protect key provisions from being watered down, while conservatives say they’ll be looking to defeat the proposal, which they say infringes on Second Amendment rights.
“There’s a wide range of opinion on what we can do to make Vermonters safer from gun violence,” said Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford. “I’m sure it’s going to be a long and intense debate, and I’m sure the gallery will be packed with both supporters and opponents of this legislation.”
Copeland Hanzas said she intends to vote for the current measure, the result of weeks of compromise in the Judiciary Committee.
“I believe that it is critically important that we use the momentum of this moment to make the state a safer place,” she said in a phone interview on Thursday.
Copeland Hanzas also is considering backing measures rejected in committee, including a mandate that guns be secured inside homes, an assault weapons ban and a requirement that gun owners obtain liability insurance.
Rep. Charlie Kimbell, D-Woodstock, said that’s likely where his support for the bill would end. The current proposal is a “reasonable list of rules and regulations” to promote gun safety, he said.
But, he said, many of the items some lawmakers are pushing would be too costly or would create regulatory hurdles.
Homeowners could be forced to spend a lot of money safely storing their gun, Kimbell said, and it’s difficult for lawmakers to determine which guns would be considered assault weapons, considering there are so many makes and modifications on the market.
“I think there was a temptation to add as much as possible to seize the moment,” he said. “All those things actually have been taken out, which I think makes a lot more sense.”
Rep. Rob Frenier, R-Chelsea, said he’ll be voting no regardless of any changes on the floor.
“I think the whole bill is full of things that won’t do any good,” he said. “I haven’t got a good word to say about any of it.”
Stricter gun laws aren’t the path toward creating safer schools, Frenier said. Additional school resource officers, armed teachers and additional mental health funding for children should instead be considered, he said.
The legislation has drawn the support of Windsor County State’s Attorney David Cahill, who submitted testimony to the House encouraging a 10-round limit on magazines.
The issue requires a victim’s constitutional right to life to be balanced against the right to bear arms, he wrote.
“It is my professional opinion that a 10-round magazine limit fairly balances these competing rights, and, if enforced, would offer victims and first responders a brief window to act during a mass shooting incident,” Cahill said in a letter to House Judiciary Chairwoman Maxine Grad, D-Moretown.
The prosecutor said on Thursday he’s been surprised the gun control debate hasn’t included discussion of the Declaration of Independence’s promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
“Since our government’s stated purpose is to protect the lives of its citizens, we owe it to ourselves to look at how this fundamental right of life can be balanced with the Second Amendment right,” Cahill said in a phone interview.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott hasn’t said whether he supports the bill, although he endorsed several provisions shortly after the Parkland, Fla., shooting.
“The details matter, so he’ll need to look at what’s ultimately passed,” Scott spokeswoman Rebecca Kelley said via email on Thursday.
Scott said he would support a ban on bump stocks, and floated the idea of raising the legal age to purchase firearms during a Feb. 22 news conference.
While he declined to commit to signing background check legislation and measures to limit magazine sizes, the governor said he would be open to discussing proposals.
“I’m open to everything. Everything’s on the table,” he said.
But Scott has been criticized by some gun-rights proponents for those remarks.
The National Association for Gun Rights issued a mailer this week portraying Scott as a child sitting atop the shoulders of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., two nationally recognized supporters of gun regulation.
“Call Republican Gov. Phil Scott right now and demand he veto S.55 or any other gun control bill that reaches his desk,” the mailer implores.
The push for stricter gun laws in Vermont comes as similar efforts appear to have failed in neighboring New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire Senate voted, 14-9, along party lines on Wednesday to kill a proposal from Sen. Martha Hennessey, D-Hanover, that would have allowed school districts to ban guns from school grounds.
Republican legislators in the Granite State this year also have blocked bills seeking to ban bump stocks and raising the legal age to purchase firearms.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.