by Paul Dame
Democrats have once again passed a law that encourages everyone to go out and buy a gun immediately – before you can’t.
This weekend on July 1st a number of new restrictions, taxes and fees will go into effect thanks to the Democratic Supermajority. A lot of ink has already been spilled about the rise in economic penalties many of us will have to pay for the Democrats’ plans to change our lives according to their preferences, including paying more for your driver’s license renewal and your car registration. This will happens despite the fact that the DMV didn’t request these increases to cover their cost of operations, and a few years ago Democrats convinced us we needed to spend $80 Million on a DMV software program to stop the cost increases. And many already know about the record-setting $8.5 Billion budget that also comes with a new payroll tax, and an almost certain increase in property taxes next fall.
But what may have escaped your attention is that Democrats have implemented a new infringement on your second amendment right (and an infringement on your rights under Article 16 of the VT Constitution) to legally purchase a firearm. If you pay for a firearm on Friday, you can take it home the same day. But if you wait until Saturday July 1st, you will be subject to a new 3-day waiting period that even some Democrats admitted was probably unconstitutional.
So Democrats are sending a clear message; don’t wait until you think you need a gun to buy one – you need to buy it earlier, at least 3 days or more early. Since you can’t know exactly when you will need a gun for self-defense the best chance you have to be ready is to buy one this week before the new restriction goes in to law.
This is the thing that really makes my blood boil about these gun laws. The more laws they pass, the greater urgency I have to buy a gun. When I knew that I could get one whenever I wanted, and felt assured that the right would always be free to exercise – I didn’t feel the need to exercise it. I didn’t own a gun, but when Democrats passed a law outlawing magazines of a certain capacity, I went out and bought a few – even though I didn’t have a firearm to use them with. But if I didn’t buy them at that time, I would have been prohibited from buying them today, or some other date in the future when I wanted or needed them. Now that Democrats are pushing further gun control laws I, and other Vermonters, are being pressured to buy a guy before Friday because who knows what they will try to do next.
The idea is that this new law is supposed to reduce the impulsiveness of buying a gun as a suicide prevention measure. So a rational person would wonder why it restricts all Vermonters, including those who already own several fire arms, from purchasing a new one when they need it. But the reality is that Democrats don’t actually care if your rights are infringed, or if the law infringes on freedom more than it protects lives. Many of them get a lot of money from non-profit and political action groups to advance the policy that is put before them and not ask too many questions. So as long as they keep getting that money and winning their re-election they don’t have to trouble themselves with the constitutionality of a bill, or the effect it has on people, especially people who don’t vote that regularly. If Democrats think they can make anything marginally better by taking away your rights, they have no aversion to doing it.
Ironically, if someone were to try to purchase a gun when the law goes in to affect on July 1st, the 72-hour waiting period would end on July 4th, Independence Day. So on the very first day that you would legally be able to take possession of your firearm under state law, the federal holiday will likely prevent you from doing so.
But until we recruit more Republicans to run for office to stop this nonsense, and convince more voters who care about gun rights to start voting consistently against those who have proven they have a low regard for our constitutional rights, the Democrats in the supermajorty will keep pushing father and farther to see how far they can go.
Vermont used to be a leader in protecting the rights of gun owners. To commemorate this proud heritage and show your support for gun rights, you can get one of the first “Constitutional Carry Cards” which shows how Vermont’s permitless carry has spread across the country. CLICK HERE to order yours today!
The author is an Essex Junction resident and chair of the Vermont Republican Party.