New Gun Control Laws Spawn Second Amendment Protest In Vermont

Vermont’s Republican Governor Phil Scott pledged to sign three new gun-control bills next week, making it easier for the state to confiscate firearms from certain people.

The first bill would make it easier to confiscate guns from someone considered to be at risk of harming themselves or others. The second allows the police to confiscate firearms from anyone whose been arrested or cited for domestic violence. The third bill would raise the gun purchase age to 21 and expand background checks. It would also ban bump stocks and high capacity magazines, according to WVNY.

Hundreds of Second Amendment supporters gathered in South Burlington Saturday to protest the Governor’s decision and express their disappointment.

“Those bills won’t be able to protect us,” pre-school teacher Naomi Snelling told WVNY. “I know how to protect myself and other people, and I know the lines of when [sic] I need to draw that.”

Most people carried protests signs, but others open carried AR-15’s across their chest to make a point, WVNY reports.

Rally organizer Christopher Covey never expected he’d lead a gun rights protest but is now fully committed to spreading the group’s message, he told WVNY

The group, “Vermont Gun March,” plans to hold several rallies over the summer to protest gun control. Their tagline: “Remember in November.”

“We’re trying to get people to understand us and understand why we want our right to bear arms,” Covey told WVNY.

WVNY reached out to Gov. Scott’s office and Gun Sense Vermont, a local group advocating for stricter gun control. Neither responded to their request for comment.