Hello Vermont, new firearm storage bill

[littlemike]

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=6278

House Bill 83 would undermine a citizen’s right to self-defense by imposing onerous storage requirements on Vermont gun owners, rendering firearms useless in self-defense situations. H. 83 would require households with children to store their firearms unloaded with an installed trigger lock and in a locked container.

Here is the text of an email I sent to all the members of the House Judiciary Committee. Those who live close to Montpelier might want to consider paying them a visit if a public hearing is announced.

Distinguished members:

As a homeowner in the town of Wilmington, in Windham County, I must express my strong opposition to H. 83. Its requirements are redundant and cumbersome, most particularly to those of us who keep and bear arms as part of a home defense plan. It would undermine a citizen’s right to self-defense by imposing onerous storage requirements on Vermont gun owners, rendering firearms useless in self-defense situations. H. 83 would require households with children to store their firearms unloaded with an installed trigger lock and in a locked container. Trigger locks are notoriously unreliable, and can be defeated without leaving evidence of tampering, and can even cause accidental trigger actuation, but will waste precious time when the gun is needed to defend against a home invasion. The TSA doesn't even recognize trigger locks for travelers who fly with firearms, instead calling for locked hard-sided containers or cases.

Although I have no children in the house, and theoretically am unlikely to be be affected by this measure, I am concerned about the general tendency to restrict the choices of lawfully armed citizens, including their individual choice of the best method of securing their firearms from access by unauthorized persons. Most of our towns and villages do not have local police, and many of us must wait an hour for state police to respond to emergency calls, which makes a viable home defense strategy crucially important for many Vermonters.

Each and every one of my firearms is stored securely against unauthorized access by others; I respectfully urge you to let individual homeowners choose the best method of preventing minors from accessing loaded firearms. As a long-time gun owner, a parent and grandparent, and a soon-to-be Certified NRA Pistol Instructor, I have always placed a high importance on gun safety; but I believe that creating new statutes is rarely an acceptable substitute for enforcing the ones we already have on the books. I would like to add that I consider education to be a much more effective tool for the prevention of youth suicides.

Thank you for your consideration.

 

[LemmyCaution]

This bill has a very slim chance of passing, but even if it does, it has many loopholes which render it ineffective, is likely unenforceable, and will almost certainly be found unconstitutional, should it actually pass.

The majority of the gun community up here is aware of the bill and many letters and petitions have made their way to the state house.

Thanks for making note of it here, though. Every bit of action helps.

Also, its interesting that you quote a one hour wait time for emergency calls. Up here (in the mountains), you call 911 after 8pm and they tell you they'll be by to write a report in the morning.

 

[littlemike]

Thanks, LC, it's good to know—and comforting to those of us down close to the border with the Peoples Republik of Taxachusetts. I was being kind or conservative I guess with that 1 hour wait time—in some major cities in the U.S., they don't even come at all for a 9-1-1 call!

 

[withdrawn34]

Statistically, firearm accidents involving children having been going down every year, despite the increasing rate of firearms ownership and the average number of firearms per owner. If you have a child, he/she is actually more likely to die in a bicycle accident or by drowning in a laundry detergent bucket than from accidental death by a firearm.

Regardless, this should be just like many other things with kids. It's up to the parents, not the government.