(RepublicanJournal.org) – Vermont’s state legislature has passed a controversial gun control law –- and the state’s Republican governor apparently let them do it. The new law bans unserialized homemade firearms, sometimes called “ghost guns.” Gun control advocates support it, but Second Amendment supporters are strongly opposed.
On April 24, the Vermont House passed S.209, a bill that regulates homemade firearms. Under the legislation, anyone who owns a “ghost gun” must take it to a federally licensed gun dealer, undergo a background check, and have a serial number engraved on the gun.
Anyone who is caught committing a crime with an unserialized firearm could also be handed a more serious sentence. Democrats argued that it’s difficult to trace homemade guns when they’re used in a crime because they don’t have serial numbers –- even though there are no statistics on how often they are used in crimes.
S.209 then moved on to the Vermont Senate and was voted through there too. At that point Governor Phil Scott (R) wrote to legislators, revealing he had doubts about the “practicality and impact” of the law. However, he then said he would let the law pass –- without his signature –- because “As a public safety measure, I agree firearms should be serialized.” The law will now come into force in March 2025.
Anti-gun groups rushed to applaud the new ban. The Giffords Law Center claimed “Vermonters will be safer with these laws in place,” while Moms Demand Action said it was a “lifesaving measure.”
Pro-2A groups were less impressed, though. The Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs said it was “shameful” that rights were being infringed and says it’s going to watch lawsuits against similar laws in other states before filing a possible challenge. Scott might have pleased liberals by letting the law pass, but he seems to have annoyed a lot of his own supporters.
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