Paramilitary training ban, juvenile gun control, ‘Affordable Heat Act’ introduced into Senate

by Guy Page

The Vermont Senate, under the President Pro Tem leadership of gun-control advocate Phil Baruth (D-Chittenden), in the first week of the session has introduced a gun control bill aimed at reducing violent crime by youth.

S4, sponsored by Judiciary Chair Phil Richard Sears (D-Bennington), Baruth, and Brian Campion (D-Bennington), is billed as “An act relating to reducing crimes of violence associated with juveniles and dangerous weapons.” The bill is not only a gun control bill: for example, it would try in criminal court all persons age 14-21 “charged with human trafficking, trafficking a regulated drug, or carrying a dangerous weapon while committing a felony.” It also would “prohibit a dwelling or building owner from knowingly or recklessly permitting the premises to be used for human trafficking, selling or dispensing a regulated drug, or carrying a dangerous weapon while committing a felony.” And it would provide grant funding to communities suffering from high rates of youth violence.

The bill’s gun control measures, however, are detailed and precise, prohibiting:

• possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number;
• straw purchases of firearms;
• possession of firearms by fugitives from justice;
• possession of semiautomatic assault weapons by persons under 21 years of age.

The bill also would make juvenile case records and files available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for purposes of conducting a background check when a person under 21 years of age purchases a firearm.

The list below comprises all bills introduced into the 2023-24 Vermont Senate as of 10 AM Monday, January 19. The entries for the last two categories are subjective judgments made by Vermont Daily Chronicle and are based mostly on the subject matter, influence and committee status of the sponsor(s), and public response to date.

This information is also available copyright-free in Google Doc format. For more information, go to http://www.legislature.vermont.gov. If you appreciate the service provided by this document, Vermont Daily Chronicle is completely reliant on reader support and advertising and welcomes non-deductible contributions. Checks may be sent to VDC, P.O. Box 1547, Montpelier, Vermont, 05601. Contribute via PayPal here.

Bill #	Introduced	Title	Lead Sponsor	Sponsor party	Committee	Likely to proceed?	High public interest?
S.1	1/6/2023	Act 250 and aircraft hangars	Sears	Democrat	Natural Resources	Yes	Yes
S.2	1/6/2023	Payment, case management for developmental disability services	Lyons	Democrat	Health & Welfare	Yes	?
S.3	1/6/2023	prohibiting paramilitary training camps	Baruth	Democrat	Judiciary	Yes	Yes
S.4	1/6/2023	Violent crime reduction for juveniles through gun control	Sears	Democrat	Judiciary	Yes	Yes
S.5	1/6/2023	Affordable Heat Act mandate	Bray	Democrat	Natural Resources	Yes	Yes
S.6	1/6/2023	Police interrogation of juveniles	Sears	Democrat	Judiciary	Yes	Yes
S.7	1/6/2023	Public defender expanded access	Hashim	Democrat	Judiciary	Yes	?
S.8	1/6/2023	appointing counsel for person found incompetent	Hashim	Democrat	Judiciary	Yes	?