H.230
"an act relating to implementing mechanisms to reduce suicide”
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PUSHING BACK WORKS!!!
ALERT! Please contact your representatives and tell them to VOTE NO on H.230.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on anti-gun bill H.230 this week! H.230 originated in the Healthcare Committee as “an act relating to implementing mechanisms to reduce suicide” and was passed out of that committee after only a few days with minimal testimony from opposing groups. Crafted in secrecy and hidden from gun rights groups till the last minute, this bill ignores ALL other contributing actors to suicide and focuses exclusively on restricting gun ownership.
H.230 proposes to:
1) Impose a “safe storage” requirement where all firearms must be kept locked eparately from ammunition and rendered inoperable when not in one’s direct ossession. This functionally abolishes the right to defend oneself in their own home and does so in direct contradiction to the 2008 Supreme Court case DC v Heller which declared such laws unconstitutional.
2) Allow family and household members to petition for an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) to have firearms confiscated from anyone they think is a threat to themselves or others. These orders can be issued “ex parte” without trial and without even notifying the accused. This means anyone in your household can file a complaint to have your guns taken by the police without due process or even your knowledge that a complaint has been filed.
3) Impose a mandatory 72-hour waiting period on ALL firearm transfers, regardless of whether you already own a firearm, or need to obtain one immediately for the purposes of self-defense.
After it was rammed through the Healthcare Committee, the bill then went to the House Judiciary Committee who heard extensive testimony from Gun Owners of Vermont, The Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs and the office of the Vermont Defender General that the provisions contained in this bill are undoubtedly unconstitutional – especially under the new standard of scrutiny imposed in the recent Supreme Court decision NYSRPA v Bruen.
The majority on the Committee did not seem to care as it was passed on a 7-4 vote with 3 Republicans and one Democrat (a lawyer) voting against it. The bill now heads to the House floor and we need you to contact your Representatives and tell them to vote NO.
Here are the facts:
1) Firearm deaths in Vermont -including suicides- have NOT significantly changed over the last 10 years according to the VT Department of Health.
2) According to the Suicide Prevention Research Center, reducing access to lethal means is the LAST step in preventing suicide, yet guns are the ONLY thing addressed in this bill.
3) The measures proposed in this bill would have little to no affect on suicides in Vermont as the vast majority of suicides with a firearm are committed using a gun that the person already owned.
4) The measures proposed in this bill are blatantly unconstitutional under the 2008 Heller and 2022 Bruen Supreme Court decisions.
5) Your right to immediately obtain and keep a firearm for personal protection is not determined by, or contingent upon the rate of suicide (or anything else for that matter) in Vermont.
It is imperative that every gun owner in the state of Vermont contact their Representatives and tell them to vote NO on H.230 – regardless of how they view gun rights and regardless of how they have voted in the past. Be sure to remain polite and professional but be firm. And if your Rep usually votes against gun control, be sure to thank them for standing with us.
If you are unsure of who your Reps are, you can find them here:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/people
Email them directly or call the Sergeant at Arms at 802-828-2228 and have them leave a message for your Reps to VOTE NO on H.230.
Stay tuned to GoVT for more updates.
In Liberty,
Eric Davis
President, Gun Owners of Vermont.
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Gun Owners of Vermont
Since 1997: "No Compromise" is more than a slogan
gunownersofvermont.org