By Michael Bielawski
The Vermont Federation of Sportmen’s Clubs has announced they are suing the state over two laws that limit magazine capacity and waiting periods to buy a gun.
“Today, with the support of the Gun Owners of Vermont, several Vermont manufacturers, its member clubs, and the many thousands of individual members, the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs (VTFSC) joined a group of Vermont citizens and sporting goods stores in filing a federal lawsuit challenging Vermont’s 72-hour waiting period law and its ban on standard capacity firearm magazines that are commonly owned in Vermont and across the nation,” the organization’s press release states.
Chris Bradley, President and Executive Director of the VTFSC is quoted stating, “The Supreme Court made it clear that governments may not impose arbitrary and pointless restrictions like Vermont’s waiting period and its ban on commonly-owned, standard-capacity magazines. These restrictions unconstitutionally infringe on Vermonters’ fundamental right to self-defense and must be struck down.”
The organization’s lawyer Brady Toensing spoke with VDC on Tuesday morning.
“Bruen [Bruen v. New York, 2022] made clear that 2nd Amendment rights are to be protected just like every other fundamental Constitutional right,” Toensing said. “It put an end to interest balancing when it comes to those rights. That balancing occurred at the time the 2nd was enacted, and it elevated above all other interests the right of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.”
Magazine capacity limits
The law concerning the magazine limits is Act 94 which limits just 10 rounds to a magazine for rifles and 15 for a handgun. It became law in 2018.
At the time Darin Goens was a certified handgun trainer and NRA’s liaison to Vermont, and he spoke with TrueNorthReports.com.
“This law would tip the scale in favor of criminals,” Goens said. “Basically, there are various scenarios where you are at a severe disadvantage — for example, what if three armed assailants break into your house and you are stuck with a ten-round magazine?”
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The waiting period
The waiting provision was one of three pieces to a bill that Republican Gov. Phil Scott allowed to become law without his signature. His rationale seemed to be that he supported the other provisions, one concerning gun storage requirements and the other dealing with expanding who can petition a court for an extreme risk protection order.
Scott did not feel good about the 72-hour wait period because he said it may infringe on Constitutional rights.
“Given the relatively new legal landscape we find ourselves in following recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, I have significant concerns about the provision’s constitutionality,” he wrote in a statement. “My struggle with the overall bill lies in the fact that I, and all legislators, took an oath to ‘not do any act or thing injurious to the constitution.’”
The logic by proponents of the bill is that it will give people time to think about their gun purchase before potentially using it against anyone else or themselves. Toensing noted that there are no provisions in this bill to make exceptions for someone who already has a gun, meaning for many the wait period wouldn’t help for this purpose.
He also noted that there are no provisions for someone who is in a dangerous situation and needs the gun immediately for protection.
Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth recently told VtDigger.com that he is frustrated with those who have the notion that these gun laws are arbitrary.
“If anything is arbitrary, it’s the paranoid fantasy that if you leave your house and go to the grocery store, you’re going to be murdered unless you yourself are packing heat in your belt,” he said.
The author is a reporter for the Vermont Daily Chronicle