When you think of pro-gun states, Vermont isn't going to be at the top of your mind. Yet it's a state that's had constitutional carry for pretty much eternity at this point. There are some measures that I'm not thrilled with, but they lack a lot of favored gun control laws, too.
And the state's Republican governor has vowed to veto one that might be coming across his desk.
The bill in question would ban firearms in bars in Burlington, and that's an issue.
“I don’t think that is going to fix what ails Burlington.”
That’s what Gov. Phil Scott told reporters Wednesday at his weekly press conference, speaking about a proposed change to the laws governing the state’s largest city that would ban guns from bars and other establishments that serve alcohol. He said he would veto the proposal — the only gun control measure legislators have advanced this year — if it makes it to his desk.
The charter change, S.131, cleared the Senate late last month. It has since been in the House Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee, which took testimony on the proposal as recently as Tuesday afternoon. Asked if his committee would pass out the proposal in time to get it to the governor before the end of the session, Rep. Matt Birong, D-Vergennes, who is the panel’s chair, gave only a short answer: “perhaps.”
Regardless, a veto may spell the end for the legislation, since it didn’t pass the Senate with enough votes — just 17 — to rebuke Scott’s red pen. Charter changes, after being approved by local voters, must get a sign-off from the Legislature and the governor before taking effect.
The bill is Burlington voters’ second attempt in a decade at asking legislators to approve a ban on guns in bars. This year’s effort was prompted by a fatal shooting last summer outside a bar and nightclub in the city’s downtown that police said was preceded by a fight inside the venue.
And, honestly, if that's what prompted this latest effort, people in Burlington should get their collective heads examined.
This shooting was outside of the bar in the first place. Do you think a prohibition on guns inside the bar would stop shootings outside of the bar? That's just going to be where people who want to follow the law keep their guns while drinking. Those who represent a real problem, though, aren't going to give a flying flip about the prohibition.
Now, if you're wondering why the state legislature is voting on what should be a local ordinance, the state has preemption on gun laws. They have to get the state to vote on them before they can become law.
And Scott is making it pretty clear he's not going to play that game.
Good for him.
See, while guns and alcohol don't mix well, not everyone in a bar is drinking. Such local laws have a tendency to exclude sober people who may just be the designated driver, or even an employee, and thus become more about the place than the status of the person with the gun.
So yeah, I'm glad Scott says this. I hope he keeps his word, too.
