(NECN: Jack Thurston, Woodstock, Vt.) - At least five Vermont towns voted Tuesday to send a strong message to lawmakers in Washington, D.C., telling them stricter controls on guns should be a legislative priority. Voters in Thetford, Bradford, Hartland, Strafford, and Woodstock backed the advisory question, which would symbolically call on lawmakers to address gun control.
New England Cable News knows of at least six towns that had planned to address gun control, though others may have brought up the issue during Town Meeting Day meetings. Those typically deal with hyper-local decisions such as funding schools or debating the purchase of a new town snow plow.
In Woodstock, Vt., which voted via secret ballot, the non-binding resolution passed overwhelming, with 707 voters calling for more stringent rules on guns, and 186 saying no, according to town clerk Jay Morgan.
"I've always disliked guns tremendously," said Anne Herz, who was holding a sign on the sidewalk outside Woodstock's town hall Tuesday, urging a "yes" vote on the measure.
In 1991, Herz's son, Jonathan, was shot and killed in a double-murder / suicide in Lamoille County, Vt. Police said the 26-year-old’s close female friend's angry ex was the gunman.
"It really worries me that people have access to [guns] without background checks," Herz said.
The ballots in the handful of towns debating the issue emerged following the shooting massacre inside Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary in December. The questions asked if residents want to tell their state and federal lawmakers they should propose bans on assault weapons and big gun magazines. The non-binding resolution also called on lawmakers to tackle criminal background checks for all gun sales, and introduce serious penalties for gun trafficking.
Politics
As for that last point, it appears Washington, D.C. was listening before the Town Meeting Day voting even started. Monday, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., unveiled legislation that would get tougher on gun trafficking and on "straw purchases." That's the term used to describe when someone buys a gun for someone else who's not supposed to have one. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Leahy chairs, is scheduled to take up the measures sometime this week.
Evan Hughes of the Vt. Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs told NECN his state has relatively lenient gun laws, and yet a reputation for safe and responsible gun use. "Enforcement of existing laws is a more effective way of dealing with criminals using firearms," Hughes said.
Hughes said he doesn't make much of the Town Meeting Day votes, and wished the first Tuesday in March tradition were preserved for more locally-important issues. "Six towns are taking it up out of all the towns in Vermont," Hughes said. "This shows the majority of Vermonters don't see this as a pressing issue."
But citizens who do think this is a pressing issue, like Anne Herz, insist change is needed on guns, and soon. Herz said she hopes the Town Meeting Day attention to the issue of gun control will continue local and national conversations about firearms.
