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VT Sportsmens Federation Position on Burlington Mayor's Handgun Agenda

On Saturday, May 27th The Burlington Free Press carried the article "Gun control for Burlington?" by staff writer John Briggs. In the article, recently elected Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss suggested Burlington should begin discussion about handguns.

The article went on to relate that Mayor Kiss stated two recent shootings in Burlington incited his decision to call for such a discussion on handguns. Mayor Kiss has not made it clear as to the ultimate goals of his comments.

In an interview published in Boston.com on May 26th, Mayor Kiss related Vermont’s being listed on a billboard Massachusetts Turnpike in Boston as a gun source state as a reason for his discussion.

The Federation takes any discussion on firearms by a government entity as a serious matter, therefore:

The Federation holds that Mayor Kiss has the power to hold discussions on public safety issues in Burlington. We believe any such governmentally instigated discussion should not use an emotionally driven approach.

The Federation is concerned that The Free Press article reports that Mayor Kiss seems to have already decided that the ownership of handguns is the cause of the two shootings, without exploring much more significant and causal factors in the two shooting incidents. In addition, The Free Press reports Mayor Kiss has not consulted with the Burlington Police Department before deciding guns are the problem.

The Federation is concerned the Boston.com quotes Mayor Kiss as placing great stock in the Boston-area billboard, which lists Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine as gun source states for Massachusetts. Particularly, when a November 25, 2005 issue of The Boston Globe carried a story by Maria Cramer, of the Globe Staff, which quoted Boston Police Department admitting “No official statistics are available on how many guns are coming from northern New England.”

We are concerned with Mayor Kiss being swayed by the said billboard, as U.S. Attorney Colantuono, of Concord, NH, used the federal data base to prove Massachusetts was the leading source of guns used in crimes in within its own state.

The Federation holds that Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are not a guns-used-in-crimes source problem for anywhere, and are all constantly in the lowest five crime rate states in the nation. These billboards are a slur upon Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and should not be used as a source by any Vermont official to aid in the further insulting defamation of our great and peaceful state.

The Federation believes any such discussion should be conducted on the basis of a well reasoned and objective review in the pursuit of sound public policy. Only after having successfully completing an exhaustive legislative process should laws be enacted.

It is for this reason that the Federation has long supported the Vermont Legislature using their well established and highly regarded “committee process” in regulating the areas of firearms, shooting and hunting. By dealing with such matter by state law there is also a uniform application throughout the state.

The state Sportsmen’s Bill of Rights, 24 V.S.A. Section 2295, firmly excludes municipalities from having the power to regulate the many aspects of the possession of firearms. H.447, passed by the legislature on Friday, May 5th amended 24 V.S.A. Section 2291 (8) immediately placing new limitations on municipal firearm discharge regulatory powers. Governor Douglas signed H.447 into law on Monday, May 22nd.

We hold that the legislature has done well in providing good law and sound public policy. Vermont continuously ranks among the five lowest crime rate states in the nation. This outstanding level of public safety has been accomplished while protecting the rights of individuals, as well as the interests of the shooting and hunting communities.

In conclusion, the Federation holds matters regarding the firearm regulatory process should continue to be controlled exclusively by the Vermont Legislature.

Updated: 30 May 2006