By Guy Page
Rep. Pat Brennan (R-Colchester), a leading gun rights advocate in the Vermont House of Representatives, has introduced a bill overturning the current ban on the possession of switchblade knives.
H13 would “remove criminal penalties for the possession, sale, or offering for sale the weapon commonly known as a switchblade knife.” At present, possession of these weapons carries a penalty of not more than 90 days in jail and/or a $100 fine. The bill does not seek to overturn the ban on zip guns, which are included in the same statute as the switchblade.
Bills introduced today also would:
| H.15 | Designate golf courses as protected green space areas where development is limited, and also appropriate funds to the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation for the purchase of golf courses for use as State parks. Introduced by Rep. Woodman Page, R-Newport City. |
| H.14 | Increase juror’s compensation from $30 to $50 per day. Introduced by Rep. Sara Coffey, D-Guilford. |
| H.12 | Reduce the case backlog in the Criminal Division of the Superior Court by permitting the court to dismiss nonviolent misdemeanor cases if the defendant has not violated the defendant’s conditions of release for a period of time equivalent to the maximum sentence imposed for the underlying crime, and fine-only misdemeanor cases if more than one year has elapsed since the defendant was arraigned. The court’s authority to dismiss these cases would apply retroactively to cases already filed. Introduced by House Judiciary Reps. Martin LaLonde, Tom Burditt, and Kevin Christie. |
Categories: Legislation
Lets review some of Vermont’s problems shall we…over taxation, rampant lack of workers causing businesses to close or cut hours, elders who cannot afford to stay in their homes, high cost of living and lack of affordable housing. But, by all means, lets be sure and protect those golf courses and legalize even more weapons. I have a proposal for consideration : 1. There should be a set criteria that a proposed bill has to meet. 2. Cap the number of new bills to be introduced per session and cap the number of new laws passed. 3. Get the budget done and then spend time reviewing the existing laws. There are many that are no longer relevant and need to be eliminated or revised. I know – it’s a major change from the status quo, but I think it is time Vermont returns to it’s independent roots. I doubt that what we have under the dome today is what was originally intended. I mean, seriously…. a law protecting golf courses?
A question for those in the State house….Is this really the best you can do?
One way of stifling their rampant desires to spend Vermont into bankruptcy is to stop paying legislators after March 1st. Of course they never really adjourn now anyhow, do they?
So prosecutors don’t want to prosecute crimes, and now those misdemeanors which are already pending are to be dismissed. Why have laws on the books if we are not going to prosecute them? Let’s continue this lawless society. People will take the law into their own hands. That will just make things worse for everyone.
Let the games begin ! (the tax money spending Olympics!)
Apparently someone has inside info on future problems occurring on golf courses?
I think we should dismiss all crimes except murder and legalize machetes, plastic explosives, IEDs, tasers, and tactical weapons. Also decriminalize opioids, prostitution, racketeering. Hey, wait a minute! Some of these are already in process!!!! You go, Vermont!!
It just boggles my mind that a Vermont member of the Legislature thinks a major issue facing Vermonters is the elimination of a switchblade ban.
It’s a waste of time enforcing laws like that. When i think of a switchblade i think of the time i spent a couple hours using a borrowed one as a box opener – in a different state.
So these imbeciles want to legalize switchblades and take our Second Amendment rights away, the very definition of madness. I have to wonder if legalizing switchblades has anything to do with all the illegals I am seeing in Walmart and Hannaford’s lately? Why is the fringe alt left supporting all this illegal immigration in Vermont?
Inflation is high and crime is on the rise but let’s come up with a bunch of idiotic bills.
I agree that it isn’t a priority, but I support the decriminalization of “assault knives”. I still won’t even buy one, because they’re dumb, but there was no reason to ban them in the first place.