Proposed legislation would allow minors to choose gender surgery (Aiden Craven/Unsplash photo) without parental permission, but would ban possession of semi-automatic firearms for all Vermonters under the age of 22 (YouTube photo).
By Jim Sexton
On December 27, Vermont Daily Chronicle told how Sen. Phil Baruth thought parents should have no final say when it came to their children. Baruth wants parental authority removed so children would be able to make decisions that would remove any possibility of them to reproduce. Medical professionals and the child will decide whether the child would receive life changing drugs and surgeries that would destroy the ability to reproduce in their lifetime.
This policy would make children, regardless of their age, mature enough to decide their future. It would effectively make every child an adult.
Using that child-empowering position as a point of reference…..
Baruth, Sen. Richard Sears and others are now trying to write more illegal gun laws, defining anyone under the age of 22 as a juvenile. According to Baruth, Sears and the others, anyone under the age of 22 is far too immature and irresponsible to purchase, own or possess a semi-automatic gun. Despite the fact that none of them have committed a crime, Baruth believes Vermonters would be safe from these juveniles if their ability to own or possess a Semi Automatic is prohibited.
What Baruth is trying to do is assert every man, woman, boy or girl under the age of 22 is a threat because of their immaturity. Baruth’s thinking is if they are under the age of 22, society must be protected from them. They are incapable of making the choice of whether to be law abiding citizens or mindless killers.
This is the same age group Baruth says is mature enough to make life altering decisions to their bodies that will change them forever.
It gets worse. I was in the meeting where Baruth asked for the word “Assault” removed from the language. He explained that too many people wouldn’t understand that term.
What Baruth actually did is to preempt any discussion as to what type of guns his bill would restrict. Every semi-automatic rifle, pistol or shotgun would be illegal for anyone under the age of 22 to purchase, own or possess. Every .22, every 20 gauge, every 9mm, every .45. Every semi-automatic period. The guns many of us had as youths to squirrel or rabbit hunt, the guns we used to hunt ducks or big Game, the guns we were taught how to use safely and pass on to our children and grandchildren. The guns that many thousands of Vermont youth own and use today.
Baruth’s bill would also make it illegal for everyone under the age of 22 to purchase, own or possess any semi-automatic to defend themselves and their family.
Baruth, Sears and the others involved in writing and pushing these bills believe they are the sole arbiters in deciding who is a criminal threat to you and your family. Every gun-possessing man, woman, boy and girl under 22 is a threat to society. They are determined to save us all.
Not even close.
In fact, what Baruth, Sears and the others are trying to do is remove Constitutional protections provided to every law-abiding American.
What Baruth, Sears and the others aren’t addressing is enforcing laws that would punish criminals committing these crimes. They aren’t addressing state attorneys that release or don’t charge criminals.
The real threat to Vermonters is politicians like Baruth, Sears, Sarah George and the others making it possible for criminals to injure or kill you or your defenseless family. Taking guns out of the hands of law-abiding Vermonters makes us all vulnerable to those who don’t care about laws.
The author is an Essex Junction resident.
Categories: Commentary
It will be argued that the new constitutional amendment at Article 22 regarding “reproductive autonomy” will prohibit parental interference with “gender affirming care” no matter the age of the child. In other words, this issue could be out of the hands of out legislature. Probably most readers of this publication realize this fact, but one wonders whether the average voter was so aware on November 8 when the amendment was approved.
The “average voter” in Vermont is a democrat and most democrats will support most anything or vote for anyone if told that it is “the right thing to do”.
They trust what they hear. They think our local news stations aren’t biased. But anyone with common sense and who have done some research know that these local stations are far left leaning.
Correct. It was intentionally vague. And voters remain intentionally oblivious. They adore being virtue-signaling puppets of the radical left. There’s a photo of true “virtue” for ya.
It’s understandable that many voters don’t understand this concept when publications like VT Digger and Front Porch Forum actively censor the information.
As well as local listserves and social media
The well organized, well financed machine made sure the average person did not understand the implications. The average person barely knows the three branches of government, sadly. Since SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, the machine went into hyper-overdrive and immediately started working individual States like rabid dogs. The playbook is known and their tactics are as clever as they are deceitful. Evil is what evil does and we are up to our necks in it now.
A Clockwork Orange set in Vermont. But just Non-Fiction.
The prevailing opinion among progressives involved in the criminal justice system is that up until the age of 26, “the brain is still developing”, and persons under that age should not be held responsible for their criminal actions. We need a standard age of maturity and legal adulthood. Basically, if you are old enough to vote or drive a motor vehicle on the public highways, you are old enough to be treated as an adult in the criminal justice system and to possess any legal firearm. If you are too young to decide on having ink injected under your skin, you should not be making your own decisions about killing your unborn offspring, changing your hormonal identity or having body parts mutilated. Progressives want to cherry pick all the legal ages to fit their sick agendas.
That age is 18
They will say anything to fit their narrative, a narrative to totally control every citizen in Vermont. Bruth is a bad dude, he hates freedom, our VT & US Constitutions and We The People must stand up against him and the Marxist left. Thank you Jim for putting this out there.
“According to Baruth, Sears and the others, anyone under the age of 22 is far too immature and irresponsible to purchase, own or possess a semi-automatic gun.”
But, an 18 yer old is old enough to join the military, and be taught to use a fully automatic firearm, and suffer the consequences that these same people think he or she is old enough to comprehend and accept. Huh ????
Does Baruth even know what a semi-automatic is? I am sure that the people having gun fights in Burlington will all dutifully switch to revolvers so they can continue dealing drugs and having shootouts in great deference to the laws of the land.
This restriction would be blatantly unconstitutional by Vermont standards. An adult has the right to bear arms. Period. Pick an age of majority. One. For everything. And then… and here’s the part that makes it all work… hold people accountable for their actions. Baruth, at least on some pandering level, is addressing the, erm… “teen,” problem in Burlington. A problem largely created by folks like Baruth. But instead of holding the actual criminals accountable, he and his ilk would rather disarm innocent, law abiding citizens. Some of these law-folks are cluelessly caught up in emotional hysteria, but I think Baruth knows exactly what he’s doing. It’s called anarcho-tyranny and it’s a classic leftist tool of authoritarian social division & systemic, bureaucratic terrorism. The violent criminals will continue to be encouraged, and you are the one who will be punished by the state, should you have the insolent temerity to protect yourself, your family, and your community.
I should add that preventing parents from protecting their children from predators instilling gender social contagion, and from irreversible medical disfigurement & sterilization, falls exactly into this pattern of anarcho-tyranny. It is the same thing. It is meant to demoralize and disempower you in the face of absolutely arbitrary state power.
Differentiating between a semi-automatic and a revolver is distinction that appeals to those who despise, and know little about, firearms. What this is a step toward completely eliminating the Second Amendment, and then the rest of the Bill of Rights.
Professor baruth probably has an inaccurate mental picture of what firearms are, be it a revolver or a modern sporting rifle. His actions continue to show his distaste of not only firearms, but of the Vermont and US Constitutions. It is a reasonable assumption that his hubris places him above his oaths of office, seemingly similar to most Vermont liberal elitists, be they politicians or not.
professor baruth’s actions in the legislature and out- point to a goal of totalitarianism and class warfare for Vermont and his “subjects”. The desire to push for firearms restrictions is exactly what every other Marxist or totalitarian “leader” has done in the last two plus centuries. As Vermont’s demographic changes to socialists and apathetic citizens- his totalitarian dreams will come to pass in Vermont. This state has passed the tipping point-and will continue the downward slide to Marxist/totalitarian government quickly now.
We need only to look north to Canada and west to California to see Vermont’s future.
Then he is an idiot pandering to the mentality ill.
Remember when, decades ago, the left was insisting on lowering the age to vote (ergo adulthood) to 18 from 21. Now they want to (selectively) raise it back to 21.
My head hurts.
This is Sick……..OMG the children…….
Sick people should not be allowed in the State House.
Too late ! That nuthouse is already run by the nuts .
Baruth and the rest of his Cronies are complete degusting moron Hypocrite human being period!! From what plant from hell did so-called people come from??
Get back on your carpet and please fly back asap!! When are you so-called voters going to stop voting in these mushrooms brain dead heads??
Wake up Vermonters wake up people!!
Enough is Enough folks !! Don’t you think ???$$$$$
They are advancing absurdity.
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Youngest to fight in the War for Independence
Andrew Jackson – 13
Thomas Young – 12
Deborah Sampson – 15
James Armistead – 15
Sybil Ludington – 15
Joseph Plumb Martin – 15
Peter Salem – 16
Mr. Baruth needs to be removed from office. Hes a tyrant and Vermont doesnt need people like him around. Hopefully the cases that are pending Re;The Bruen decision get through the courts quickly, nullifying Baruth’s tyranny