As the mother of three kids who have grown up with the anxiety, drills, and tragedies related to gun violence in the United States, gun safety legislation has long been a top priority for me. Unlike any other comparable country in the world, guns are the leading cause of death for American children and teens, surpassing car accidents since 2020. In Vermont, nearly 90% of gun deaths are the result of suicide, and Vermont’s rate of suicide significantly exceeds the national average. Our state and country have also recently seen an uptick in community gun violence more broadly. Thus, this session, we approached gun violence from the perspective of child protection, suicide prevention, and community safety.
A bill that began in the House Health Care Committee as a means for addressing the public health crisis related to gun access and suicide became Act 45 Mechanisms to Reduce Suicide and Community Violence. Act 45 establishes criminal penalties for negligent storage of guns and requires firearms dealers to post signs warning purchasers about the risks of guns and suicide and requirements for properly securing their guns. These safe storage provisions are designed, in part, to prevent children, who are 4.4 times more likely to die by suicide in a home with a gun, from accessing firearms.
Act 45 also expands the current extreme risk protection order (ERPO), or red flag laws, to allow family or household members to petition for such protections, a crucial tool in preventing domestic violence gun deaths. Finally, the legislation establishes a 72-hour waiting period for the purchase or transfer of a firearm. Waiting periods have proven highly successful in preventing suicides and rash gun violence, which are often prevented by giving individuals in crisis time to seek help and/or reconsider their plans. In conjunction with Act 45, we passed Act 56 Public Health Initiatives to Address Suicide which requires the Director of Suicide Prevention in the Department of Mental Health to create a statewide strategic plan for suicide prevention, training, education, and postvention.
To further address community gun violence and access to firearms for juveniles, we passed Act 23 Reducing Crimes of Violence Associated with Juveniles and Dangerous Weapons. This legislation expands the list of “Big 12” offenses in juvenile law which are generally required to begin in the Criminal, rather than Family, Division of Vermont’s court system, and includes other provisions to move a case from the Family to Criminal Division. It also makes juvenile records available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for background checks of individuals under age 22 who seek to purchase a gun.
Act 23 aligns Vermont criminal law with federal law regarding certain firearm-related offenses, such as straw purchases, possession of firearms, and defacing gun serial numbers. The Act also creates a Community Violence Prevention Program within the Department of Health to administer grants to local towns and community organizations. Finally, we passed Act 13 Prohibiting Paramilitary Training Camps, such as the operation in Pawlet that has caused so much fear and controversy for neighbors and the surrounding community. Together, this suite of gun safety and suicide prevention bills should work to make communities and individuals in Vermont safer from gun violence.
Photo Note: Middlebury High School students at the State House for a hearing on gun safety legislation in 2018, posing in front of a message board in the House Judiciary Committee room created by Middlebury Middle School students who had testified earlier in the session.
Ruth for Vermont 