MONTPELIER, Vt. -
A day after the toughest gun restrictions in the country were signed into law in New York... in Washington, the President announced a similar plan on the national level.
-Ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammo clips
-Have everyone who purchases a gun undergo a universal background check
-And make more funds available for mental health care.
President Obama also says, school security needs more support.
"Like most Americans, I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. I believe most of them agree that if America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown."
And in New York, Governor Cuomo is already facing the same opposition the President says he expects. Only yesterday, Governor Cuomo signed the strictest gun rules in the nation into law. And gun rights activists are already calling for repeal. Those against the law say if the restrictions are not repealed, they'll take the issue to court. Another group opposed to the Governor's new law actually started an online petition to get him impeached. The petition is on the White House's web site and it's calling for the President to impeach Governor Cuomo for quote "violating" second amendment rights. The petition already has about 3,905 signatures as of 5:25pm. They would need 25,000 by February 14th.
Legislation in Vermont hasn't even come to the floor yet, and already there are a lot of people upset. Yesterday, we told you about one senator who's proposed a bill that would ban semi-automatic guns.
Governor Peter Shumlin still wants to wait and see what happens at the federal level, before we make any changes at the state level, but other senators aren't confident in Congress and are already proposing bills and a gun task force to start a full discussion locally.
"These granite walls were built to contain the heat of a really powerful debate," State Senator Philip Baruth said.
And that's indeed what Baruth's bill has done. "At this point I can tell you that I don't support his bill," State Senator Richard Sears said.
Let's break down the proposed bill. It would ban semi automatic guns, limit the amount of bullets in a cartridge to ten and require parents to put locks on all guns. This was introduced Tuesday.
I asked Sen. Baruth, "how many emails have you received since yesterday about this?" He replied, "I would say 150."
Baruth say's about 75 percent of them were against his plan. "It grandfathers any weapon that's currently owned, it grandfathers and exempts antique weapons or collectable's, so we're not talking about taking anybody's guns," Sen. Baruth said.
Senator John Campbell has proposed a gun task force. It would include gun enthusiats, and victims of gun violence... gain their input, and then make a proposal.
"Our children... their lives and the lives of others are far too important for us not to do anything," Sen. Campbell said.
I spoke with someone from the National Rifle Association who says mental health is the real problem and says lawmakers need to leave guns alone. Even with that input, many lawmakers feel confident there will be a change in gun control by the end of this legislative session, even if it means both sides compromising.
"It may not be what everybody wants," Sen. Campbell said.
There's a public hearing set for February 7th at the Statehouse to discuss the assault weapons ban proposal. At that time, a new bill that would ban felons from possessing firearms will be introduced.
