After a huge amount of work, H.606 (referred to as the “Omnibus Firearms Bill” at one point) was radically changed from what it started out as. The Federation is incredibly pleased that we were able to defeat the insidious “Manufacturer’s Liability” section before it was even formally introduced, something unprecedented. We were also able to provide wording for the best way to manage illegal machine guns, in addition to other positive changes. H.606 was then voted out of the House Judiciary Committee; then voted through the House; ending up in the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC).
H.606 was introduced into the SJC on April 2nd with a walkthrough by legislative counsel and some testimony taken. On that date, two amendments were suggested. The first was a Firearm Relinquishment bill brought forward by the AG’s office in response to a Firearms Relinquishment Working Group that met across 2025, and the second was a “No Guns in Bars Statewide” bill brought forward by Senator Baruth.
Testimony continued April 3rd, with the NRA, the Federation and Gun Owners of Vermont providing testimony. Because neither of the two amendments had been voted as now being part of H.606 however: Testimony on the Relinquishment or “No Guns in Bars Statewide” amendment was limited.
After the “No Guns in Bars Statewide” amendment was suggested for inclusion into H.606, a question arose as to whether that amendment would be germane to the intent of that bill. In order to bypass that concern, Senator Baruth called an Emergency Meeting of the Senate Rules Committee on April 15th (a meeting that did NOT appear on the Rules Committee Agenda for that week) wherein the Senate Rules Committee suspended the Rules of the Senate to allow a new bill to be created. This was necessary to sidestep the fact that the bill introduction cutoff date AND the crossover cutoff date had both long passed by.
The newly minted bill was S.329 which included all language from H.606 as it left the House but added a new section 5 which is Senator Baruth’s “No Guns in Bars Statewide” bill.
Amazingly, a little over 1 hour later that newly created bill was introduced onto the Senate floor where it was immediately assigned to the SJC.
On April 17th, S.329 was introduced to the SJC, but the allotted time ran out before the walkthrough could be completed. However: During that initial walkthrough, the Committee voted to remove Section 1 (make it a felony to steal any firearm). There was also brief discussion that the Relinquishment bill still needed to be added into S.329 (but needed “tweaks), and another possible amendment might also be considered which would amend the 72-hour Waiting Period to be lessened by any shipping time it may take to have a firearm shipped to the Vermont purchaser.
S.329 is now scheduled before SJC tomorrow April 21st at 10AM. We expect the walkthrough to pick up with section 4 (illegal machine guns), and then the “No Guns in Bars Statewide” section, as well as walkthroughs of the other possible two amendments. The schedule shows only “Mark-up,” not any vote. The current schedule for the SJC for the remainder of the week looks full except for Friday the 24th, which has a TBD entry at approximately 10AM.
We will be requesting further testimony, as I presume others will as well.
Given that we were pivotal in helping to stop the two attempts at Charter Changes for “No Guns in Bars” in Burlington, we most assuredly have problems with Mr. Baruth’s statewide attempt to ban firearms where alcohol is served. Its blatantly unconstitutional and we oppose.
We still have a problem with Section 3 of H.606 dealing with people who have been ordered for non-hospitalization treatment and being unable to possess firearms as this does not align with Federal Law. We must oppose.
As for the firearm Relinquishment section: While we recognize the need for a uniform and consistent process, what has been provided will cause dire problems as there are distinct differences between Temporary Relief From Abuse (RFA) orders and Final Orders which this amendment ignores completely, so we strongly oppose.
We expect S.329 will pass the SJC in some form. What form is too early to tell, but we will continue to fight bad legislation and will keep you informed.
Oral Arguments before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals
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