Friday, February 23, 2018

Gov. Scott - NO New Firearms Control in Vermont!

Dear Sen. Nitka,

I am a resident of Chester, and am writing to you regarding the proposals in the Senate regarding increased firearms regulation. I am extremely concerned for the ramifications of some of these proposals. PLEASE hear me out.

I am a retired teacher, who chose to move to Vermont - in spite of the financial burden on retirees compared to other states - precisely because of the life style here.  I am a fairly liberal gay man who, more than once, has found myself a target on the streets of New York and elsewhere.  To protect myself, I carry a firearm, because I am my own best line of defense when these incidents occur.

I used to live in Massachusetts.  In spite of currently being in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary out of Station Burlington, with Homeland Security Clearance, having NO criminal record of any kind, and having been fingerprinted with the FBI no fewer than 11 times (for Coast Guard work and during the adoption of 6 children and foster care of three others) - the background check and license I requested there TOOK EIGHT MONTHS to process (even though the law there said 60 day maximum).  No one should have to wait that long to exercise a Constitutional right to protect themselves!  The background check there was a total disaster. I moved to Vermont for several reasons, but paramount was the fact that it is the safest state in the union, and I don't have to beg for permission to exercise my right to self defense.

In a vacuum, Universal Background Checks seem to make sense, to weed out those with criminal records and mental health issues, and that seems to be driving this initiative, but there are terrible unintended consequences:

1) The majority of people with criminal records are non-violent offenders, most for drug offenses, and many with marijuana convictions - ironic, considering we have just legalized marijuana in Vermont!  A background check will not only flag these people, but will disproportionately affect minorities who are caught up in this system (and yes, I have an inter-racial family).  Progressives are appropriately trying to seal these types of convictions so that non-violent offenders can be re-integrated into society and get jobs - and yet this throws that entire effort into chaos.

2) As a teacher, I worked frequently with Veterans, many of whom return from overseas and are assisted with mental health counseling for PTSD.  These are men and women who know how to safely use firearms better than most - and yet, they are precisely the ones who will be caught up in mental health check.  Are we now going to require that physicians and counselors report the details of privileged patient-client information to a government database?

Similarly, the effort to raise the age for purchase to 21 is an insult to the people who we consider old enough to vote for you at age 18.  At 18, they can join the military and carry military-grade automatics, and they can be trusted as armed police officers in our Towns...but they would not be able to purchase a hunting firearm in a state with a long, proud history of hunting?!

I realize that in the wake of the tragedy in Florida, people are emotional and looking for "government to do something;"  and yet, this is precisely the time when legislators make poor choices.  The 'crisis of the moment" lead to the internment of Japanese-Americans in WWII, and it lead to the Patriot Act and FISA courts - both examples of terrible losses of Constitutional Rights as a result of an emotional reaction to tragedy.

I am asking you to OPPOSE any effort to restrict the firearms laws here in Vermont.

Thank you,

Thomas T Simmons

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