Vermont: House committee approves slew of gun restrictions despite flood of opposition from Vermonters

Just days after Vermont’s pro-gun coalition issued a joint complaint to House leaders regarding a lack of accessibility to lawmakers, the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed S.55, which includes a handful of significant restrictions on Second Amendment rights. Lawmakers approved the bill on a 6-5 mostly party-line vote, with just committee Vice Chair Rep. Charles Conquest, D-Wells River, crossing party lines to join Republicans in voting against the measure. While the underlying bill concerns what to do with police storage of confiscated guns, key amendments include universal background checks for private sales, a limit on magazine capacity to 10 rounds, an age limit of 21 for gun purchases and a ban on bump stocks.