Gun laws in Vermont

Location of Vermont in the United States

Gun laws in Vermont regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the state of Vermont in the United States.

Vermont has very few gun control laws, and has among the most permissive laws in the nation regarding the purchase and open or concealed carry of firearms. The state's rural character, along with its strong hunting and outdoor sports traditions, have contributed to the state's permissive gun policies. Gun dealers are required to keep a record of all handgun sales. It is illegal to carry a gun on school property or in a courthouse. State law preempts local governments from regulating the possession, ownership, transfer, carrying, registration or licensing of firearms.^[1] A notable exception however, is that silencers/suppressors are prohibited outside of law enforcement and class III FFL's.

The state of Vermont neither issues nor requires a permit to carry a weapon on one's person, openly or concealed. This permissive stance on gun control known in the US as Constitutional carry, since one's "permit" is said to be the constitution. For many decades, Vermont was the only state where this was the case (hence the alternative term Vermont carry).^[2] Vermont law does not distinguish between residents and non-residents of the state; both have the same right to carry permit-free while in Vermont.

The Vermont Constitution of 1777, dating well before the Bill of Rights to a time when Vermont was an independent republic, guarantees certain freedoms and rights to the citizens: "That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State – and as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power."^[3] In the modern era, the Vermont Supreme Court established the right to carry firearms without a permit in State v Rosenthal, 75 Vt. 295 (1903).^[4][5]

In January 2013, the city of Burlington approved an ordinance banning semi-automatic assault weapons and large capacity magazines within the city.^[6] The policy's constitutionality is ambiguous,^[7] and its passage generated controversy and disapproval from gun rights advocates in the state, culminating in an incident in Morrisville, where the owners of a firing range have prohibited Burlington Police officers from using the facility to protest the City Council's decision.^[8] The ban was ultimately dropped and never reached a local vote.

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