Would have banned use of town funds to store confiscated firearms

by Guy Page

The Town of Groton voted 39-41 last Wednesday against a resolution that would have declared the town a ‘Second Amendment Sancturary,’ Town Clerk Carrie Peters said today.

The meeting can be seen in its entirety on Kingdom Access Television. After Selectboard member Dan Webster discussed the background of the article, 12 minutes of discussion followed with comments from Martin Klein, Mark Gleicher, Deborah Jurist, Jessica Decarolis, Donna Russo-Savage and Richard Montague. It ended with a call for a paper vote. Results: 80 votes, 39 Yes, 41 No.

If approved, the proposal would have barred the town of Groton from using funds to store firearms that have been confiscated or are being stored “for the purpose of enforcing any other law that unconstitutionally infringes upon the right of the people of Groton, Vermont to keep and bear arms.”

The resolution cited a number of U. S. Supreme Court decisions as well as Vermont state laws that require background checks for handgun and rifle purchases and prevent people from purchasing firearms under certain circumstances.

Groton resident Dan Webster wrote the resolution and introduced it to the special meeting audience.

(Content from August 1, 2021 news story by Meg Trogolo of Community News Service is included in this article.)