Press Release DRAFT

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 20, 2018

 

CONTACT:

ALEXANDRA MACLEAN, 1-802-xxx-xxxx

 

OVER ONE HUNDRED VERMONT GUN OWNERS URGE LAWMAKERS TO PASS EXPANDED BACKGROUND CHECK LEGISLATION

 

Montpelier, Vt., - Over one hundred Vermont gun owners sent a letter to legislators urging them to pass expanded background check legislation today.  Gun owners from across the state joined together to urge their lawmakers to save Vermonters lives by passing this common sense gun reform measure.

 

The full text of the letter delivered to lawmakers is below:

 

Dear legislators,

 

We are writing you today as Vermont gun owners in support of expanded background checks.

 

We all own guns for different reasons: hunting, personal protection, sport, etc. We are all supporters of the second amendment. And we all support the passage of expanded background checks. Passing expanded background checks will help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously ill and will save lives.

 

Currently, gun sales are treated differently depending on where a gun is bought in Vermont. A person who buys a gun through a federally licensed gun shop is required to pass a background check, while a person who buys a gun from an unlicensed seller on websites like Armslist, at a flea market, or at a gun show is not required to pass a background check.  This means that our current system allows criminals and the dangerously ill to legally purchase guns in Vermont.

 

Studies have shown that background checks saves lives.  In states that require background checks for all handgun sales gun deaths have dropped significantly. From 2009 to 2012, states that required background checks on all handgun sales or permits had 35% fewer gun deaths per capita than states without that background check requirement. Researchers have also found that, after adjusting for population, in states that require background checks for all handgun sales, 47% fewer women are shot to death by their intimate partners, there are 47% fewer firearm suicides, and 53% fewer law enforcement officers are shot to death by handguns.

 

Passing background check legislation is a common sense measure to help keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals and those who are dangerously ill.  As law abiding gun owners in Vermont we urge you to help keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them.

 

Sincerely,





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