Vermont’s Republican governor has allowed legislation to become law, without his signature, that bans unregistered firearms. Advocates are praising the development, while opponents say it’s a move to expand background checks.
On Tuesday, Governor Phil Scott allowed S.209, the so-called “ghost guns” bill, to become law without his signature. During his weekly briefing on Wednesday he said the bill doesn’t address the root causes of increasing violent crime in the state.
“I believe every gun should have a serial number attached to it. That’s why I let it go. But I don’t think that is the issue. Ghost guns might be important but I don’t think that’s what impacting what we’re seeing across the state.”
Moms Demand Action Vermont Chapter volunteer Pat Byrd is excited that S.209 has been enacted.
“I understand why Governor Scott may have decided to take the position he has. But he did not use his veto authority to block it. So we’re really happy about that. We have seen ghost guns turning up in criminal activities. In addition, we had a number of lawmakers that were very interested in passing legislation to prevent the sale of kits that can be used to manufacture these unserialized weapons. So this legislation will make that kind of a sale in the state of Vermont illegal.”
Gun Sense Vermont Executive Director Conor Casey calls approval of the ghost guns bill a natural extension of gun laws passed in previous sessions.
“The number one reason somebody would try to get their hands on a ghost gun would be to avoid getting a background check. So because we passed background checks in Vermont you would certainly see people trying to get this in a more illicit way here. And of course, unserialized firearms are untraceable. This is definitely a positive step.”
Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs President and Executive Director Chris Bradley, no relation, notes that federal and ATF rules allow individuals to make their own guns. He adds that prior to 1968, there were no federal laws mandating serial numbers on guns.
“There are any number of firearms in private hands and probably in criminal hands that don’t have a serial number. But I really don’t think they care much about serial numbers. What they really wanted was background checks. If I’m a felon I’m not going to go try and take an unserialized gun and have it serialized.”
A separate clause in the bill prohibits firearms in or near polling places. Exemptions include law enforcement officers. Casey says that clause is as important as the ghost guns provisions.
“We’ve definitely seen the rhetoric on the national level become venomous and trickle down to Vermont where we saw election workers in our own Secretary of State’s office threatened a couple years ago. So we want to make sure that polling stations are pretty much a sacred place where people can exercise their rights without fear of intimidation.”
But Bradley says polling stations have already been determined sensitive areas and the clause banning firearms at those sites merely offers an illusion of safety.
“There’s no screening. There’s no law enforcement. It’s just a sign. When I first saw this bill I argued why are you only doing this with firearms? If I stood outside a polling place with a pitchfork or a samurai sword or a baseball bat with nails in it, that isn’t intimidating?”
The bill also mandates that a study coordinated by the Vermont Secretary of State’s office be completed by January 15, 2025 and returned to key legislative committees regarding options for prohibiting firearms in municipal and state government buildings including the Statehouse.
