Montpelier
The legislation was talked about in broad strokes among lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, the first day lawmakers returned to the Statehouse for a special legislative session.
Whether any legislation regarding relief from abuse orders can wind its way around the rules and politics of a special session where tax and budgetary matters are the dominant topic remains unclear.
Talk of legislation regarding relief from abuse orders follows on the heels of a homicide in South Burlington, where police said 33-year-old Anako Lumumba’s boyfriend, Leroy Headley, 36, shot and killed her in South Burlington earlier this month.
He remains on the run, though police said his vehicle has been located.
Lumumba had obtained an emergency relief from abuse order against Headley late last year, but didn’t show up for a final hearing. Federal law allows for guns to be seized when a judge approves a final order relief from abuse order.
Auburn Watersong, policy director of the Vermont Network against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said on Wednesday that she doesn’t know all the particulars in Lumumba’s case.
However, she said she is pushing for a change in state law that would allow authorities to seize firearms from a person who has an emergency relief from abuse order against them, before having to wait for a final hearing and order.
“It’s current practice by judges that at their discretion they can ask for relinquishment of firearms, they can put that in the emergency relief from abuse order,” Watersong said.
“It’s different across jurisdictions,” she added. “This would just be codifying and improving on current practice.”
The time right after a person seeks a relief from an abuse order against someone else is one of the most dangerous times for that person, Watersong said.
That’s why it’s important to allow firearms to be seized at that initial emergency order stage, she said.
Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee, said on Wednesday she is working on drafting a bill regarding relief from abuse orders, along with others, including Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington, who also serves on the panel.
Grad said over the last session the committee did take testimony on the matter, but language never made its way into a bill.
She added that she believes it is something the panel could take up next week when lawmakers return as part of the special session.
“This is an important issue that has come up because of the events of South Burlington,” LaLonde said of revising the relief from abuse process.
And if the special session runs long, he added, the Senate would likely have to pursue additional measures as well.
“If we’re here for a while they may need something to do and we might provide it,” LaLonde said.
Bill Moore, of the Vermont Traditions Coalition, which supports gun rights, said on Wednesday while he is awaiting seeing the exact language of the legislation, he does have concerns.
Those concerns include ensuring that victims in abusive situations don’t have their firearms taken out of their home when seized by authorities due to an order granted against another party in the household.
That would affect the ability of victims to protect themselves, he said.
“It’s a question that needs to be answered,” Moore said.