VT. Sportsmen’s Clubs v. Birmingham: Fighting for Vermont’s New Magazine Capacity Limits
Case Information: Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, et al. v. Birmingham, et al. (Vt. Super. Ct. amicus brief filed July 24, 2018).
At Issue: Vermont enacted a package of lifesaving and publicly supported gun safety measures after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. One of these critical new laws is S.55, which restricts access to the large-capacity ammunition magazines (LCMs) used in mass shootings from Sandy Hook to Las Vegas and countless other tragedies. Republican Governor Scott signed the bill shortly after the Vermont State Police stopped a would-be mass shooter from carrying out a school shooting at Fair Haven High School. The plaintiffs in this lawsuit argue that S.55 violates Article 16 of the Vermont Constitution.
Giffords Law Center’s Brief: We partnered with the Vermont Medical Society and GunSense Vermont on an amicus brief urging Vermont’s Superior Court to reject the meritless, gun-lobby backed challenge to S.55. Our amicus brief argues that Plaintiffs’ claims fail as a matter of law because LCMs pose an unjustifiable risk to public health and safety and Vermont’s magazine restrictions are wholly consistent with established precedent interpreting Article 16.