City Council vote needs voter, Legislature approval
By Michael Bielawski
The Burlington City Council Monday, November 18 voted unanimously to have the question of a gun ban in bars go to the voters. The Council cites a decade-old affirmative vote by the citizenry in 2014 as a reason this must go forward.
“Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City Council approves the proposed Charter amendment,” the resolution states. It continues, “… which was previously placed before the voters in 2014, and requests that the Mayor warn the question therein and place it on the ballot for the Annual City Meeting to be held on March 4, 2025.”
The whole resolution can be downloaded from the meeting’s agenda.
The Legislature didn’t approve the 2014 initiative. “In the more than one decade since, the General Assembly still has not taken action to approve the proposed Charter change respecting guns in bars,” the resolution states.
It alleges that shootings have continued to plague the city. It states, “Whereas, gun violence continues to end, maim, and negatively impact human lives in our City…”
There is a fatal shooting incident referenced from last August on Church Street when a young woman leaving a bar had a gun and she shot and killed someone in what may have been a domestic dispute.
According to the September Burlington Police Chief’s Report there were only three gun incidents by mid-September 2019. Since then, gun incidents have risen sharply with 11 by that point last year. The worst year recently was 2022 when there were 23 gun incidents by that point.
The City Clerk will set public hearings, likely in January.
The state must approve
If the city’s voters in 2025 again approve this initiative, Vermont’s new ‘purple’ legislature, with more Republican representation in both the House and Senate, will ultimately decide along with the governor if this will become law. The resolution acknowledges this fact.
“Whereas, without a change to state law or a Charter amendment, 24 V.S.A. section 2295 prevents the City from adopting a ban on firearms at establishments with a first-class liquor license,” it states.
The law states, “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.”
It clarifies that municipal laws must not contradict the State Constitution. It states, “This section shall not limit the powers conferred upon a town, city, or incorporated village under subdivision 2291(8) of this title. The provisions of this section shall supersede any inconsistent provisions of a municipal charter.”
The Council urges that action be taken by lawmakers.
The resolution states, “The City Council renews its call and encourages the General Assembly not only to adopt the voter approved Charter change, but also to adopt statewide legislation prohibiting firearms in establishments with liquor licenses or authorizing any Vermont municipality to enact such a prohibition by ordinance.”
Do gun bans work?
The RAND Corporation did a study that was inconclusive in regards to having hard data to share. The study does suggest that signaling to criminals that civilian guns are banned may attract more, not less crime.
“Alternatively, if the presence or potential presence of armed civilians deters violence, gun-free zones could serve as more-attractive targets to violent criminals or mass shooters because perpetrators will be less likely to encounter armed resistance in these areas,” the study states.
The Lancet Medical Journal also did a study on this question in 2023. These results too appear ambivalent.
“Of 150 active shooting cases, 72 (48.0%) were determined to have occurred in a gun-free zone. Of 150 controls where no active shooting occurred, 92 (61.3%) were determined to be gun-free,” it states.
Non-citizen voters may cast ballots
Burlington is one of three municipalities (along with Winooski and Montpelier) allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in municipal elections and ballot items such as the bar gun ban approved by the City Council Monday night.
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle