Tue, 04/27/2021 - 6:51am tim
by Devon Green, VAHHS Vice President of Government Relations In a dire situation that is growing in severity around the country, our hospital emergency departments are overwhelmed right now not with COVID patients but with children and adults in mental health crisis waiting days and weeks at a time to receive proper and complete treatment. The mental health of Vermonters is the next public health emergency. VAHHS hopes to work with the legislature and state agencies to bring to our current mental health crisis the resources, regulatory flexibility, workforce development and data collection efforts Vermont successfully deployed to take on COVID-19.
Panel combines gun storage, narrower ban in public places
House changes still supported by advocates of regulation but opposed by firearms rights groups
A bill that combines storage requirements for firearms with a narrower ban on guns in some public places is headed for a vote of the Oregon House.
The House Rules Committee, on a party-line vote Friday, April 23, approved a revamped version of Senate Bill 554 and sent it to the full House. All four Democrats voted for it; all three Republicans against it.
The changes appear to have had no effect on group support or opposition to the bill, which the committee heard testimony on April 21 and 22. Advocates of firearms regulation still support it; advocates of gun rights still oppose it.
Split view of changes
The Rules Committee proposes to combine it with a narrower version of Senate Bill 554, which passed the Senate on a 16-7 vote March 25. All votes for it came from Democrats; one Democrat joined six Republicans against it, and the rest were excused or absent.
The original bill would bar all firearms would be barred from state buildings, including the Capitol, and local governments would have the option of barring them from their own buildings. In essence, the ban would apply to the estimated 300,000 holders of concealed-handgun licenses, who are now exempt from weapons bans in public buildings.
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House panel ponders linking firearms storage, narrow ban
Senators say proposal weakens restrictions for public buildings they have already approved.
Legislation that combines proposed requirements for firearms locks and safe storage with a narrower ban on firearms in public buildings is gaining political momentum in the Oregon House.
The House Rules Committee heard a proposal to combine elements of two bills, one awaiting a vote of the full House and a second that has already passed the Senate. If it happens, the House would have to take only one vote, instead of two, on a firearms regulation bill and the Senate would have to vote only on whether to accept the final version.