Gunrights

House accepts Senate changes to gun control bill

H.230, billed as anti-suicide measure, now faces veto, override challenge

By Guy Page

The Vermont House voted 106-34 this morning to accept the Senate version of H.230, the gun control bill that requires firearms storage and a 72-hour waiting period before firearms transfers. The bill will now go to Gov. Phil Scott’s desk, where it faces a possible veto.

Scott has said he believes the waiting period is unconstitutional. If he vetoes the bill, the 106 votes Yes votes received in the House today suggest House Speaker Jill Krowinski will have no difficulty finding 100 votes to override the veto. The amended bill passed the Senate 19-9, a tighter margin for the ⅔ necessary to override. 

Based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, “I believe this bill is unconstitutional,” Rep. Joseph Andriano (D-Orwell) said in explanation of his No vote.

Lawmakers supporting the bill expressed hope that if enacted it will reduce Vermont’s high suicide rate. “A disproportionate number of veterans dies by suicide every day. If this law saves one life, it’s worth it,” Rep. Joseph Troiano (D-Stannard), a U.S. Army veteran, said.

The House’s most prominent gun control advocate said he’s satisfied with the Senate changes to H.230.

“Critically, the Senate did not touch the 72 hour waiting period,” House Judiciary Chair Martin Lalonde said on the floor of the House. The Senate did relax storage facilities – making failure to a store a crime only if someone is harmed – but that’s still better than current law, which has no storage requirements at all, Lalonde said. 

Rep. Mark Higley (R-Lowell) requested a roll call. The vote was as follows:

YES

Arsenault of Williston *

Brady of Williston *

Dolan of Essex Junction *

Houghton of Essex Junction *

Mulvaney-Stanak of Burlington *

Notte of Rutland City *

Troiano of Stannard *

Williams of Barre City *

Andrews of Westford

Anthony of Barre City

Arrison of Weathersfield

Austin of Colchester

Bartholomew of Hartland

Berbeco of Winooski

Birong of Vergennes

Black of Essex

Bluemle of Burlington

Bongartz of Manchester

Bos-Lun of Westminster

Boyden of Cambridge

Brown of Richmond

Brumsted of Shelburne

Burke of Brattleboro

Burrows of West Windsor

Buss of Woodstock

Campbell of St. Johnsbury

Carpenter of Hyde Park

Carroll of Bennington

Casey of Montpelier

Chapin of East Montpelier

Chase of Chester

Chase of Colchester

Chesnut-Tangerman of Middletown Springs

Christie of Hartford

Cina of Burlington

Coffey of Guilford

Cole of Hartford

Conlon of Cornwall

Corcoran of Bennington

Cordes of Lincoln

Demrow of Corinth

Dodge of Essex

Dolan of Waitsfield

Durfee of Shaftsbury

Elder of Starksboro

Emmons of Springfield

Farlice-Rubio of Barnet

Goldman of Rockingham

Graning of Jericho

Headrick of Burlington

Holcombe of Norwich

Hooper of Burlington

Hooper of Randolph

Howard of Rutland City

Hyman of South Burlington

Jerome of Brandon

Kornheiser of Brattleboro

Krasnow of South Burlington

LaBounty of Lyndon

Lalley of Shelburne

LaLonde of South Burlington

LaMont of Morristown

Lanpher of Vergennes

Leavitt of Grand Isle

Lipsky of Stowe

Logan of Burlington

Long of Newfane

Masland of Thetford

McCann of Montpelier

McCarthy of St. Albans City

McGill of Bridport

Mihaly of Calais

Minier of South Burlington

Morris of Springfield

Mrowicki of Putney

Nicoll of Ludlow

Noyes of Wolcott

Nugent of South Burlington

O’Brien of Tunbridge

Ode of Burlington

Pajala of Londonderry

Patt of Worcester

Pearl of Danville

Pouech of Hinesburg

Priestley of Bradford

Rachelson of Burlington

Rice of Dorset

Roberts of Halifax

Satcowitz of Randolph

Scheu of Middlebury

Sheldon of Middlebury

Sibilia of Dover

Sims of Craftsbury

Small of Winooski

Squirrell of Underhill

Stebbins of Burlington

Stevens of Waterbury

Stone of Burlington

Surprenant of Barnard

Taylor of Colchester

Toleno of Brattleboro

Torre of Moretown

Waters Evans of Charlotte

White of Bethel

Whitman of Bennington

Wood of Waterbury

NO

Andriano of Orwell *

Donahue of Northfield *

Sammis of Castleton *

Williams of Granby *

Bartley of Fairfax

Beck of St. Johnsbury

Branagan of Georgia

Brennan of Colchester

Canfield of Fair Haven

Clifford of Rutland City

Demar of Enosburgh

Galfetti of Barre Town

Goslant of Northfield

Graham of Williamstown

Gregoire of Fairfield

Harrison of Chittenden

Higley of Lowell

Labor of Morgan

Laroche of Franklin

Maguire of Rutland City

Marcotte of Coventry

Mattos of Milton

Morgan of Milton

Morrissey of Bennington

Oliver of Sheldon

Page of Newport City

Parsons of Newbury

Peterson of Clarendon

Shaw of Pittsford

Smith of Derby

Taylor of Milton

Templeman of Brownington

Toof of St. Albans Town

Walker of Swanton

ABSENT:

Brownell of Pownal

Burditt of West Rutland

Dickinson of St. Albans Town

Garofano of Essex

Hango of Berkshire

James of Manchester

McCoy of Poultney

McFaun of Barre Town

Wilson of Lyndon

Asterisks denote a comment recorded in the House Journal, not available at this time. 

Categories: Gunrights

25 replies »

  1. So, it’s okay for Vermont to be a destination state for assisted suicide, but they want to stop unassisted suicide.

    • Makes a lot of sense doesn’t it but anything that makes sense they do the opposite.

    • I said something similar to someone. Suicide tourism. They claimed I was stupid if I couldn’t tell the difference. But 3 days is magic. No one will kill themselves on day 4, right?

      • You can’t distinguish between a terminally ill person who decides to end their life after consulting with medical and mental health professionals and a person who impulsively takes their own life because they are suffering from PTSD?

  2. This super majority is having a field day destroying our rights. They just ended gun shows in VT.

  3. Idiotic as always, you seriously don’t think a vet doesn’t already own a firearm? Stupid. Come to my house and tell me I need to store my firearms to your guidance 😆

  4. We get what we get when we allow a majority of democRATS and other woke left wingers to rule over us.

  5. When is anyone going to talk about the real problem…..mental health. Gun control hasn’t fixed the problems in the past and it won’t fix it now. Our government is blinded by the darkness taking over this country. Regardless of party, your eyes should be open to the evil in this country. What was wrong is right and what is right is wrong.

    • If they talked about the real problem, mental health and psychotropic drugs they wouldn’t have the gun control issue. They want to disarm us so they can control us.

      “You don’t throw rocks at a man with a machine gun”. Rowdy Roddy Piper

  6. Hopefully a Lawsuit coming! YOU IDIOT SWAMP RATS 🐀 🐀
    Just keep voting for these degusting Human beings 🤡 You ldiot’s!!
    THE VERMONTER FROM THE RIGHT SIDE WITH COMMON SENSE PERIOD!!

    • I wonder if we can now prosecute the parents of these kids who commit suicide because they should have locked up the guns from them?

  7. Now our eunuch governor thinks it’s unconstitutional. He didn’t think that when he signed Vermont’s Universal Background Check & Magazine ban. Scott gave them an inch and now they’re back for five miles. https://vermontdailychronicle.com/bill-would-mandate-all-firearms-licensing-registration-and-insurance/
    And his veto will be overridden.
    Then there is this lame statement: “A disproportionate number of veterans dies by suicide every day. If this law saves one life, it’s worth it,” Rep. Joseph Troiano (D-Stannard), a U.S. Army veteran, said.
    Hey Joe, is there a 72-hour waiting period in Vermont to buy Fentanyl?

  8. Constitution? What Constitution? say the belligerent occupiers of the Golden Dome. Has it sunk in yet that the insurgence and overthrow of the Republic is real? Has the reality of the deadly consequences taken hold yet? If not, very soon the stark reality will take hold and no one will be immune to the fallout.

  9. Check out the list of absent, the ones to busy to vote for our constitutional rights. If they don’t have a really good reason for missing this vote, they should be voted out of office. Noted, McFaun of Bare Town and McCoy of Putney, both republicans and McCoy is the minority leader. Thank you for bailing on my constitutional rights!

  10. Modest gun control reforms at best, but at least a move in the right direction and a good first step. Here’s hoping for a quick override of the expected veto.

  11. Democrats want you dead. Never forget it. You vote democrat you have signed your own death warrant. Gun control is not about “saving lives” it is about making sure you can’t save your own life.

  12. Gun control is secretly people control, we need to stop vilifying firearms they are a tool, a firearm does not just get up and start killing people, the second that the mass shooter is shot in the head by a good guy with a gun whether it’s a private citizen or law enforcement guess what the firearm stops shooting wonder why because it wasn’t the firearm shooting people it was a evil mentally ill person shooting that firearm. Putting these gun laws in place for safe storage and a 72 hour wait isn’t going to stop people from going and committing suicide if they really want to commit suicide they’re going to do it one way or another, yes don’t get me wrong I believe that everyone should be using safe storage for their firearms keeping them out of the hands of children and people who should not have them but we shouldn’t be having the government telling us what we need to do and not do, it’s crazy how people just give up essential liberties for a little promise security from the government that never comes, the government is not our friends they do not want what’s best for us, all the government does is trample all over our constitutional rights, our liberties and freedoms, we literally pay the political parasites to take away our freedoms to stop all over our constitutional rights which the founding fathers fought so hard shedding blood sweat and tears In order to give us, an American today so quickly and easily just give them up. I bet you that if you ask every American if they Trust the government, 80% would say no they don’t but yet turn to them begging them to take away their freedoms and rule over them. If history teaches us anything it is that when the citizens are well armed, We have Rights, liberties, and freedoms but when the government has all the firearms tyranny rains supreme. Vermont has always been a constitutional state, Vermont has always had the lowest crime rates, Vermont is the second or third most safest state to live in, the more and more gun control that the state government implements here in Vermont you will see crime rates start to rise because criminals want easy targets.

  13. states with stronger gun laws have lower rates of gun deaths than states with weaker laws. Research has also shown that common-sense gun laws such as background checks, waiting periods, and restrictions on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons can reduce gun violence without infringing on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

    Additionally, it’s worth noting that the Second Amendment was written in a time when firearms were much less deadly and much less widely available than they are today. The Founding Fathers could not have foreseen the level of gun violence and mass shootings that we face in modern times, and it’s reasonable to update our laws accordingly to address this public health crisis.

    Finally, it’s important to recognize that responsible gun ownership does not require unrestricted access to firearms. We can support the rights of responsible gun owners while also taking steps to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands and reducing the toll of gun violence in our communities.