by Chris Bradley
On November 18th, the Burlington City Council passed a Resolution, and they then adopted an Ordinance, which would ban possession of firearms in any establishment that sells liquor.
By taking those two actions, first by declaring their intent and then passing an Ordinance implementing that ban, the Burlington City Council broke Vermont law.
The law, 24 VSA 2295, better known as the “pre-emption statute”, is clear:
“Except as otherwise provided by law, no town, city, or incorporated village, by ordinance, resolution, or other enactment, shall directly regulate hunting, fishing, and trapping or the possession, ownership, transportation, transfer, sale, purchase, carrying, licensing, or registration of traps, firearms, ammunition, or components of firearms or ammunition.”
By enacting that statute, the legislature wisely decided that Vermont would not become a patchwork of conflicting ordinances which changed at town lines, thereby ensuring uniformity and consistency of firearm laws across Vermont as Vermonters travelled around the state.
Burlington is experiencing more violent crime, and Vermonters, in general, are bypassing the city for shopping and entertainment. Many Vermonters believe this shift in crime is the result of the questionable move by the City Council to defund and reduce the size of the Burlington Police Department, coupled with the desire to never incarcerate people even though they may repeatedly do bad things.
For many law-abiding citizens, the result of these changes regarding the punishment of criminal activity, both minor and major, has encouraged more people who have never owned a firearm to purchase one. It has also encouraged gun owners, law-abiding people who can pass background checks without any problem, to conceal carry for their own protection.
In recent memory, there has been only one well-publicized incident of a woman shooting a man outside of a bar in Burlington. An altercation occurred in a bar in Burlington which resulted in two individuals being escorted out through different doors, whereupon the woman walked around to the other door, pulled a pistol from her purse, and then proceeded to commit cold-blooded murder.
The creation of a “gun free zone” which is not enforced will be nothing more than a false sense of security to anyone who chooses to enter. Unless and until guards are present, along with expensive scanning machines and bag searches, passing a law that says “No Guns Allowed” does nothing more than to create a Zone of Illusionary Protection (ZIP), which is no protection at all. Beyond that, this is not just “guns in bars”, it is guns in any establishment that sells alcohol, which would also mean restaurants and other venues.
In a utopian world, there may not be any need for firearms, but in today’s world that is NOT the case. Innocent people are being horribly affected by violent crime across Vermont and especially in Burlington, and people have a right to defend themselves.
At this juncture, it would seem appropriate for the Vermont AG to inform the Burlington City Council that it has broken Vermont law, with these actions properly set aside as being illegal.
Author is President and Executive Director for the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs (VTFSC).