Previously, we alerted you to H.606 – An act relating to firearm procedures, an innocent sounding title which is now being called The Omnibus Firearms Bill by one of its sponsors.
There are 5 sections to this bill:
- Stealing any firearm becomes a felony,
- Extend the penalty for 2nd and subsequent offenses of a prohibited person found with a firearm,
- Attempt to align State law with Federal Law when a court orders hospitalization or non-hospitalization treatment on an individual,
- Ban possession of machine guns and "rapid-fire devices", and,
- Enable nuisance lawsuits against members of the "Firearm industry."
As previously reported, Section 5 is PURE POISON. This new law exposes Vermont's highly-respected firearm manufacturers to "Public Nuisance" lawsuits, even though they are protected from such lawsuits by the Protection in the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) if they do nothing wrong / illegal.
This new law exposes FFLs to "Public Nuisance" lawsuits, even though they are also currently protected by PLCAA as well as existing State Law if they do nothing wrong / illegal.
This new law also exposes individuals AND stores to "Public Nuisance" lawsuits if they sell a firearm or "firearm accessory." The definition of "firearm accessory" by our read would include pistol grips, slings, stocks or recoil pads, because they could be seen as aiding "stability and handling". It would include selling certain holsters because they would aid "concealability" and it would include hollow-point ammunition because they aid in "destructive capacity."
H.606 is an insidious bill with unbelievable scope; you can read our preliminary analysis of Section 5 here.
With everything else our legislature should be focused on, the majority still wants to push an Omnibus Gun Bill?
H.606 will be moving within the next several weeks, and it is apparent that it will move as introduced despite our best efforts to have section 5 killed.
One further note on Section 5: We directly asked the lead sponsor to give us an example of the problem that Section 5 was supposed to fix, but they could not think of a single one. Not even one! It should surprise no one that the majority wants to create a new law the purpose of which they cannot even identify.
First, as this law will affect you, I would ask that you consider giving testimony when the time comes. If enough people request to testify, we can likely force a public hearing. If you are interested in giving testimony – please just reply to this email with your intention.
Secondly, TAKE ACTION. Using our email tool, you will be emailing the entire House Judiciary Committee as well as the Speaker of the House. The software we use will provide a random Subject line and a "canned" message – but we encourage using your own words.
This is an all-hands-on-deck action alert, please TAKE ACTION. NO TO H.606.
If you like what we do to protect your rights, you can donate to our efforts using this page, and please forward this to your like-minded friends and family.
