To: Governor Phil Scott
Governor Shumlin: Support Sensible Gun Laws in Vermont
We can't wait for the federal government to pass sensible gun laws. We can't wait for a horrific massacre in Vermont. We need to strengthen Vermont's weak gun laws to combat our guns-to-drugs trafficking problem, stop our rising suicide rate, and prevent another mass tragedy right here in Vermont. Will you take this on and lead?
Why is this important?
Now that the federal government has failed to pass basic, common sense gun laws, it is up to the states to act. Governor Shumlin has said that Vermont's laws are adequate, but Vermont actually has some of the weakest gun laws in the country. We are currently lacking some of the most basic gun regulations, and the safety of Vermonters is at stake.
- Vermont has the highest rate of gun deaths in New England – mostly by suicide.
- Vermont has the 12th highest suicide rate in the country and the highest the northeastern U.S., the majority of which are carried out with a gun.
- Vermont, despite its small size, is 16th in the nation in exporting guns later found in crimes throughout the country, and has the highest rate of exported guns per capita in the northeast.
- Vermont does not require gun owners to make guns inaccessible to children, despite the clear correlation between accidental shootings and unsecured guns.
- Over past 10 years, 50% of Vermont’s homicides have been domestic violence-related. In states that require a background check for privates sales of handguns, 38% fewer women are shot to death by their intimate partners.
Vermont has lots of responsible gun owners, but as our laws stand now, there is hardly anything keeping an irresponsible person from acquiring a firearm and harming themselves and/or others. If the governor truly believes in a 50-state solution, he should help put Vermont on the map as yet another state willing to prioritize its citizens' safety ahead of the gun lobby's agenda.
More statistics and our sources can be found at: www.GunSenseVT.org.
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