To Possess or Not to Possess, That is the Question - Commentary by Pam Wheeler

The neighborhoods of Burlington, Vermont represent a unique uniformity bound together by liberal laws and neighborhood watch. While this does not mean there is no crime the concept of lax laws allows for a mutual unspoken understanding between its citizens. So if we all can get along while owning sometimes multiple firearms, why can’t we get along without that internal fear that our neighbor is going to shoot us? Living in a state where gun violence is far outweighed from gun usage, I chose to investigate the benefits to owning a fire arm.

In an interview with Michael Coughlin, director of security for Valor Security in the downtown mall, he shares his belief that these gun laws create equality between the criminal and the average Joe, allowing for an air of insecurity that works to the benefit of the non-criminal. This is an advantage for non-users because the mystery of the game is “what is the potential that the person I am confronting is also carrying a firearm?” As also discussed in the interview, the crime rate involving fire arms in other states such as Massachusetts and Connecticut is much higher because the security as well as the final penalty for the “criminal” is drastically different than in the state of Vermont. Creating safer communities in the Burlington area can be directly related to the fire arm regulations administered by the state.

In terms of Hunting and other outdoor recreational sports, the gun regulations create a bonding experience for children and their parents. Before much judgment is passed upon this statement, consider the concept of Youth Hunting Weekend. Hunter’s education courses in correlation with the state’s designated youth hunting weekends allow for underage young adults to gain experience handling guns while exploring one of the areas’s most practiced past times. Area high schools experience quite a few “call in sick” days for students during hunting season. Burke O’Brien, former owner of BJ’s Hunting and Shooting supply reassures that it is a simple process for young adults and the experience gained from youth hunting makes purchasing and owning firearms a simpler process in later years.

“You have to use your noggin,” says O’Brien, “some guy came in alone yesterday, had never shot a gun before, his wife had never shot a gun before, and he had nobody to teach him. I wouldn’t sell it to him.”

Protection would seemingly be a benefit to owning a firearm, at least for someone who feels they need the protection. As mentioned earlier, Burlington, VT is a quite little town not short of its own disciplinary problems though gun violence is not documented as one of them. Purchasing and owning a firearm in the state of Vermont is displayed as a recreational purchase that is unnecessary for those uninteresting in hunting or visiting the local shooting range; however for a person interested in becoming a first time gun user, the process is as simple as presenting an ID and waiting 10-15 minutes for a criminal background check. Based on advice from O’Brien, as long as you do your research and are knowledgeable with rules and regulations as well as general usage you’ll be scoring that buck or hitting that skeet in no time!