Please contact your Reprsentative(s)...

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Bernard -- The VTFSC is requesting that you consider contacting your Vermont House Representative(s) to politely say "Oppose H.133, it clearly lacks Due Process of Law"  (You can see the bill problems below). You can leave a message for them with the Sergeant at Arms at 802-828-2228, or or better yet:  Send them and E-mail relating your opposition to H.133.   To identify your House Representative(s) click on this link:  https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/search/2022 If you know the names of your House Representatives click on this link:  https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/all/2022/House Gun Control Bill H.133 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on straight party lines.  The four Republican committee members voted against it.  All of the Democratic/Progressive members voted for it.   The bill will now move to the floor of the entire Vermont House of Representatives. The hearing starts at the beginning of the video and is short in duration in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNt5189Cykg H.133 requires a person subject to a temporary Relief From Abuse order to relinquish all of their firearms.  This is an Ex Parte proceeding, which means the subject of the order is not required to be informed of the hearing and the order can be granted without the defendant having an opportunity to be present, present evidence or have any representation. The level of evidence to grant the order is a "Preponderance" which means any degree in favor of the plaintiff seeking the order.  Just the weight of a feather in favor of the plaintiff. How is possible that the plaintiff seeking the order would not prevail when the defendant does not know of the hearing, is not present, will not be able to provide evidence or have representation.   In the federal statute (United State Code) governing such civil orders, Ex Parte proceedings are not legal.  Due Process of Law still means something in places other than Vermont. But, in the Vermont Legislature protection of constitution rights and fair play for gun owners is not required.   Please contact your representatives. Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs http://www.vtfsc.com/ VT Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs · 454 S Main St, Northfield, VT 05663, United States This email was sent to sportsmanscluboffranklincounty.clubnews@blogger.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs on Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.

Vermont Senate Bill S.30

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Bernard -- The Senate Democratic Caucus took up the matter of gun control bill S.30, which has been the subject of several hearing in Senate Judiciary Committee. The author of the bill, Senator Phil Baruth, took the matter of S.30 to the caucus of his party, to pitch his bad bill to the entire body of Senate Democrats. You can hear the S.30 discussion which starts at the beginning of the Senate Democratic Caucus meeting and runs for 20-25 minutes.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfkxuwqHBo0   Senator Baruth made several factual errors in his statements on S.30 in relation of the Unlawful Trespass law.   * An employee is not required to give "notice of trespass" to a person prior to calling the police.  The employee can call the police and in the presence of the police, can give "notice of trespass."  If the person leaves the property and leaves the firearm in their vehicle, no charges will be brought.  If they refuse to leave or return with the firearm, they can be taken into police custody and removed from the property.   See 13 V.S.A. Section 3705 below.   * He proclaims citizens might well say they cannot be given "notice of trespass" claiming a Second Amendment defense in the Unlawful Trespass law. A citizen with a firearm cannot assert they have "lawful authority" which refers to having claim to the property.  Lawful authority would be legal authority  one would have by owning the property or a leave or rental contract.   You have a right to freedom of expression. That doesn't mean you cannot be given "notice of trespass" if you start marching around a supermarket with a sign proclaiming  "Agree with me on my Cause."  By Senator Baruth's statement a person might claim a legal defense against prosecution under the Unlawful Trespass statute because of  the First Amendment right of "freedom of expression"  If they refuse to leave they can still claim such a right, as they are sitting handcuffed in the backseat of a police cruiser.   They can also explain to the judge at their arraignment all about their inaccurate perception of unlimited "freedom of expression" on private property.  Good Luck!   (Cite as: 13 V.S.A. § 3705) § 3705. Unlawful trespass(A) actual communication by the person in lawful possession or his or her agent or by a law enforcement officer acting on behalf of such person or his or her agent;(C) in the case of abandoned property:(ii) actual communication by a law enforcement officer.(A) real property on which there is a vacant structure that for the previous 60 days has been continuously unoccupied by a person with the legal right to occupy it and with respect to which the municipality has by first-class mail to the owner's last known address provided the owner with notice and an opportunity to be heard; and(ii) one or more utility services have been disconnected; or(b) Prosecutions for offenses under subsection (a) of this section shall be commenced within 60 days following the commission of the offense and not thereafter.(d) A person who enters a dwelling house, whether or not a person is actually present, knowing that he or she is not licensed or privileged to do so shall be imprisoned for not more than three years or fined not more than $2,000.00, or both. (e) A law enforcement officer shall not be prosecuted under subsection (a) of this section if he or she is authorized to serve civil or criminal process, including citations, summons, subpoenas, warrants, and other court orders, and the scope of his or her entrance onto the land or place of another is no more than necessary to effectuate the service of process. (Added 1969, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.); amended 1971, No. 229 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1973, No. 109, § 7; 1979, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1981, No. 223 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 17, 23; 2013, No. 49, § 3; 2013, No. 75, § 21.) (c) A person who enters a building other than a residence, whose access is normally locked, whether or not the access is actually locked, or a residence in violation of an order of any court of competent jurisdiction in this State shall be imprisoned for not more than one year or fined not more than $500.00, or both. (B) a railroad car that for the previous 60 days has been unmoved and unoccupied by a person with the legal right to occupy it. (i) property taxes have been delinquent for six months or more; or (2) As used in this subsection, "abandoned property" means: (i) signs or placards, posted by the owner, the owner's agent, or a law enforcement officer, and so designed and situated as to give reasonable notice; or (B) signs or placards so designed and situated as to give reasonable notice; or (a)(1) A person shall be imprisoned for not more than three months or fined not more than $500.00, or both, if, without legal authority or the consent of the person in lawful possession, he or she enters or remains on any land or in any place as to which notice against trespass is given by:   Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs http://www.vtfsc.com/ VT Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs · 454 S Main St, Northfield, VT 05663, United States This email was sent to sportsmanscluboffranklincounty.clubnews@blogger.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs on Facebook. 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VTFSC Update on Mag Ban Case

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Bernard -- Update: 2/19/2021 The Federation regrets to report that the Vermont Supreme Court has issued decisions in both Magazine Ban cases, with their decision being that the Ban is Constitutional. In making their decision, the Supreme Court relied on only a "reasonableness test" as opposed to a more rigid Intermediate Scrutiny or Strict Scrutiny, they appear to have ignored any consideration for violation of Common Benefits, and further appear to have based their decision entirely on the evidence presented in that OTHER case, and then applied that ruling to our case. You can read the lengthy and extremely disappointing decision at this link. You can then see their one-page decision on our case at this link. At this time we are evaluating our options, but we should all remember that not all of the Vermont Supreme Court's decisions have withstood scrutiny by SCOTUS, and that SCOTUS must rule on this issue sooner or later.  Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs http://www.vtfsc.com/ VT Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs · 454 S Main St, Northfield, VT 05663, United States This email was sent to sportsmanscluboffranklincounty.clubnews@blogger.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs on Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.

VTFSC Update as of 2/17/2021

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Bernard -- Just a brief update... As of today, 291 bills have been submitted to the House, with 85 bills submitted in the Senate.  As these bills appear, we parse them for topics of interest, and distill them down to a list of bills we track.  You can see that list, broken out by subject matter, on the home page of the VTFSC website.  We update this regularly. On the F&W side, we are tracking 6 bills of significant concern.  Of those, H.167 (creation of ANR Stewardship Board) and H.172 (anti-Trapping and Bear Hunting) are especially nasty.  Nothing is moving on these bills - yet.  Should either move:  Sportspeople should be ready to stand with the VT Trappers and VT Bear Houndsmen.  We'll be watching for any movement on any of these, and we'll deal with them along with our allies as they come. On the Firearm side, we are tracking 11 bills of significant concern, with S.30 (banning firearms in certain places) and H.133 (firearm relinquishment in DV cases) both taking testimony which we have delivered.  S.30 has a number of issues, not the least of which is redundancy as well as imposing strict liability, with no further action this week or last.  H.133 is an attempt to codify what is clearly judicial over-reach into law which steps all over Due Process rights. There are a number of other bad firearm-related bills out there, but so far nothing else is moving. Just so you are aware:  "Crossover" is when bills that have been passed by one body are moved over for action with the other.  Theoretically:  Any bill not passed by a Committee on one side before crossover has to wait until the next session for action by the other side.  Crossover is usually the 2nd Friday after town-meeting, or for this year:  March 12th. The Mag Ban case is awaiting a final decision in VT Supreme Court, and we remain positive that we will have a favorable decision, especially after the District Court of Southern California and 3-panel 9th Circuit decisions.  We'll keep you posted.  As the VTFSC had to pay in $10K to get that case thru the VT Supreme Court - we'd really appreciate your consideration of a donation. Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs http://www.vtfsc.com/ VT Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs · 454 S Main St, Northfield, VT 05663, United States This email was sent to sportsmanscluboffranklincounty.clubnews@blogger.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs on Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.

VTFSC Files Amicus Brief in US Supreme Court Firearms Case

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Bernard -- This past week The Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs and the Vermont State Rifle & Pistol Association are parties in an Amicus brief in the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Corlett before the Supreme Court of United States (SCOTUS)  This is one of the many ways The VTFSC continually protects and preserves your civil rights at both the Vermont state and federal levels. The lawsuit this brief supports is important in protecting the right of individuals to posses and carry arms for the protection of themselves, their families and their communities. Read the SCOTUS Amicus brief here  VTFSC & VSRPA Amicus Brief NYSRPA vs. Corlett   If you take a look at the Amicus brief you will see a "Table of Authorities" which cites State v. Rosenthal (1903) a Supreme Court  of Vermont  (SCOV) case on the carry of firearms in which the SCOV unanimously ruled that the City of Rutland ordinance that  required a permit to carry a firearm was "repugnant" to the Vermont Constitution.     State v. Rosenthal: https://guncite.com/court/state/55a610.html   Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs http://www.vtfsc.com/ VT Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs · 454 S Main St, Northfield, VT 05663, United States This email was sent to sportsmanscluboffranklincounty.clubnews@blogger.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs on Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.

2021 Firearms Restrictions Introduced

Bernard --   The Senate Judiciary Committee is hearing new firearm restrictions tomorrow January 20th @ 9am. You can watch the hearings on zoom by clicking the following link Vermont Senate Zoom Link   Senate Bill S30 would create new "gun free zones" in Vermont that do not exist now. You can read the entire bill here: Bill S.30 Firearms Restrictions 2021    All bills in play as of today can be found here: 2021 Bill In Play Vermont   For More Information on Vermont's ranking as the second safest state in the nation watch this video  Video What Keeps Vermont So Safe?   Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs http://www.vtfsc.com/ VT Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs · 454 S Main St, Northfield, VT 05663, United States This email was sent to sportsmanscluboffranklincounty.clubnews@blogger.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs on Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.

Vermont Supreme Court Hear Magazine Ban Challenge 11/17/2020

Bernard -- VTFSC Lawsuit Challenging VERMONT MAGAZINE BAN Will Be Heard at Vermont Supreme Court Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs 11/16/2020 The Federation is pleased to notify you that oral arguments on our Magazine Ban suit is now schedule to occur before the Vermont Supreme Court on NOVEMBER 17, 2020 starting at 9AM EST.   While you will not be allowed to attend in person, you can watch and listen to this pivotal discussion by going to the following link: Watch VTFSC Magazine Ban 11/17/20 Join The Fight : Donate Here To Protect Your Vermont Rights Read The Full Update Here: Full VTFSC Lawsuit Update While many entities and individuals helped fund this case to get it started and get it through the Washington County Superior Court (Thank You To All Who Stepped Forward), those funds only got us to the Vermont Supreme Court - not through it. In order to move this forward, the Federation stepped to the plate and used money from our dwindling Defense Fund to pay $10,000 to help bring this case to a what we believe we be a very successful conclusion. As we look ahead to the next biennium, we believe that there will be continued attacks on our firearm and sporting rights, and you need to know that across just this past biennium, almost $250,000 has been spent to lobby AGAINST those rights. PLEASE: Take a moment to consider how much your rights are worth, ask yourself how much you have donated to date to fight for your rights, and then please consider making a donation to the VTFSC. $5; $10; $50 - whatever you can donate will be a huge help, and then get your family and friends to donate.   You can donate to the Federation by going to the following page: Donate Here To Protect Your Vermont Rights   Yours In Freedom & Liberty Chris Bradley, President - VTFSC   Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs http://www.vtfsc.com/ VT Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs · 454 S Main St, Northfield, VT 05663, United States This email was sent to sportsmanscluboffranklincounty.clubnews@blogger.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs on Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.