PASSED
in the State House of Representatives
on March 27, 2018, by a vote of
89-54
.
Purpose: S.55 was originally about defining procedures for disposing of certain firearms in the possession of law enforcement. However, this bill was repurposed in the House to be the vehicle for sweeping gun control legislation.
.
Analysis: S.55 raises the age for long gun purchases to 21, mandates background checks for nearly all private firearm sales, bans magazines holding more than fifteen rounds, and bans bump stocks.
.
Those voting YES believe these measures will result in a safer communities by reducing gun violence.
.
Those voting NO believe that these measures will have no measurable impact on safety or violence, create undo burdens on law abiding gun owners, are largely unenforceable, and pose constitutional issues at both the state and federal levels.
.
As Recorded in the House Journal, Tuesday, March 27, 2018
“Shall the bill pass in concurrence with proposal of amendment? was decided in the affirmative. Yeas, 89. Nays, 54.” (Read the
Journal, p. 870-878).
.
Related:
Each measure in this bill was voted on separately during a series of amendments. All passed, but you can see each specific roll call here:
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I tend to agree that these sound like reasonable measures, but I cannot see where it would stop anyone from going into a school, shopping mall, night club, buses, concert, and easily killing dozens of unarmed people.
I am in favor of creating a civil defense force of throughly trained, and armed young men to patrol and guard every place where there is a crowd of people.
I am sure one could look to Israel to find out exactly how this should be done.
Greyling Van Alstyne
Guns are not really the problem. Our nation’s slow moral disintegration is. One of our Founding Fathers said that the U.S. Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people, and that it would be wholly inadequate to govern us if we lost those moral bearings. We are seeing that play out now, before our very eyes. Gun control bills such as this are only a symptom, and cowardly lawmakers are looking for a way out because they will not stand and defend liberty. Gun control only hamstrings the law-abiding citizenry. It never stops the crooks and thugs and those determined to do evil. Every time the liberals and Progressives impose gun control on us, they tell us it is “common sense” gun control. They say it every time they want a new restriction. But they do intend to confiscate all guns in the end. Don’t be fooled by what they say. Watch what they do. They are Fabian socialists at heart. Gov. Phil Scott, in agreeing with this latest gun control measure and signing this Progressive legislation (breaking his word as he did so), said, “This is the way forward.” That is the slogan of Progressives. Our esteemed governor needs to read the U.S. and Vermont Constitutions. It is not about guns. It is about upholding the U.S. and Vermont Constitutions and recovering our moral foundations. Socialism/ Progressivism (Fabian socialism) are not home-grown political philosophies. They originated overseas. We don’t need them here.