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Senate OKs bar, restaurant gun ban on party line

By Sam Douglass

As reported earlier this week, S.329, an anticipated and controversial gun control bill, was taken up for a vote on Thursday by the Vermont Senate. The majority of the discussion came from Democratic Senators speaking in support of the bill with few Republicans speaking either in favor or in opposition.

While the discussion on Thursday was dominated by the provision in S.329 that banned firearms in bars and liquor-license holding restaurants statewide, the bill contains multiple sections including a statewide prohibition on machine guns and new laws for possessing firearms after a court hospitalization order or incompetence to stand trial.

A similar 2025 bill was precipitated by a shooting that occurred outside of a bar on Church Street in Burlington in 2023, which led to the prohibition of firearms in bars and other establishments that is now present in S.329.

In support of the bill, Senator Ann Cummings (D-Washington) expressed concern for the wellbeing and safety of law enforcement and cited the danger that police officers face when responding to fights at bars where alcohol and firearms mix. She referenced an earlier local provision in the city of Montpelier that banned firearms in bars locally for the safety of law enforcement.

“…And it was a danger for the police officers to go in there when there’s turmoil and somebody pulled a gun,” said Cummings. “Every week, there is a pop up in the news somewhere of a mass shooting in bars, not just two people going at it, but four or five or six bystanders that get killed or wounded. It is not a safe place to have a firearm.”

During discussion on the bill, Senator Joseph Major (D-Windsor) referred to national crime statistics that places Burlington among the safest cities in the country.

“As a matter of fact, Burlington is one of the 10 safest cities in America. Let me say that again. Burlington is one of the 10 safest cities in America. So what that is trying to be looked at is the old trope of a good guy with a gun beats a bad guy with a gun. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not Gunsmoke. It’s not a television show,” said Major.

He also expressed concern for the danger of mixing alcohol and firearms.

“This is common sense. When people are impaired because of alcohol, they do things that they would normally not do when they’re not impaired. Common sense. And I don’t want this to be a rural versus urban argument. It is not. It is a common sense argument.”

Senator Steve Heffernan (R-Addision) agreed with Major’s initial assessment but disagreed with him on the bill as a whole and on the distinction of rural vs urban.

“As the good senator from Windsor said, Burlington is one of the safest cities in Vermont. I don’t see why we need to make this rule that all of Vermont has to abide by: a rule that one city would like to see. I’m pretty much in rural Vermont and during deer season and even during any time of hunting season you do have a lot of hunters that are carrying firearms in and out of a bar. I would say 99% of the time it’s 100% safe with people carrying firearms. I’m sick of making laws that will affect that 99% because of the 1%,” said Heffernan.

The bill was ultimately ordered  for a third reading on a party line vote. This vote was identical to the party line vote on the Burlington City Charter change to a similar effect last year.

Third reading is scheduled for today. It is unclear how the House will respond to the statewide banning of firearms in guns and restaurants.

Information for In Committee news reports are sourced from GoldenDomeVt.com and the General Assembly website. Generative AI has not been used in the writing of this story.

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Senate OKs bar, restaurant gun ban on party line

By Sam Douglass

As reported earlier this week, S.329, an anticipated and controversial gun control bill, was taken up for a vote on Thursday by the Vermont Senate. The majority of the discussion came from Democratic Senators speaking in support of the bill with few Republicans speaking either in favor or in opposition.

While the discussion on Thursday was dominated by the provision in S.329 that banned firearms in bars and liquor-license holding restaurants statewide, the bill contains multiple sections including a statewide prohibition on machine guns and new laws for possessing firearms after a court hospitalization order or incompetence to stand trial.

A similar 2025 bill was precipitated by a shooting that occurred outside of a bar on Church Street in Burlington in 2023, which led to the prohibition of firearms in bars and other establishments that is now present in S.329.

In support of the bill, Senator Ann Cummings (D-Washington) expressed concern for the wellbeing and safety of law enforcement and cited the danger that police officers face when responding to fights at bars where alcohol and firearms mix. She referenced an earlier local provision in the city of Montpelier that banned firearms in bars locally for the safety of law enforcement.

“…And it was a danger for the police officers to go in there when there’s turmoil and somebody pulled a gun,” said Cummings. “Every week, there is a pop up in the news somewhere of a mass shooting in bars, not just two people going at it, but four or five or six bystanders that get killed or wounded. It is not a safe place to have a firearm.”

During discussion on the bill, Senator Joseph Major (D-Windsor) referred to national crime statistics that places Burlington among the safest cities in the country.

“As a matter of fact, Burlington is one of the 10 safest cities in America. Let me say that again. Burlington is one of the 10 safest cities in America. So what that is trying to be looked at is the old trope of a good guy with a gun beats a bad guy with a gun. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not Gunsmoke. It’s not a television show,” said Major.

He also expressed concern for the danger of mixing alcohol and firearms.

“This is common sense. When people are impaired because of alcohol, they do things that they would normally not do when they’re not impaired. Common sense. And I don’t want this to be a rural versus urban argument. It is not. It is a common sense argument.”

Senator Steve Heffernan (R-Addision) agreed with Major’s initial assessment but disagreed with him on the bill as a whole and on the distinction of rural vs urban.

“As the good senator from Windsor said, Burlington is one of the safest cities in Vermont. I don’t see why we need to make this rule that all of Vermont has to abide by: a rule that one city would like to see. I’m pretty much in rural Vermont and during deer season and even during any time of hunting season you do have a lot of hunters that are carrying firearms in and out of a bar. I would say 99% of the time it’s 100% safe with people carrying firearms. I’m sick of making laws that will affect that 99% because of the 1%,” said Heffernan.

The bill was ultimately ordered  for a third reading on a party line vote. This vote was identical to the party line vote on the Burlington City Charter change to a similar effect last year.

Third reading is scheduled for today. It is unclear how the House will respond to the statewide banning of firearms in guns and restaurants.

Information for In Committee news reports are sourced from GoldenDomeVt.com and the General Assembly website. Generative AI has not been used in the writing of this story.