To The Editor:
The author of the letter to the editor titled “Guns and domestic violence” in the March 30 issue of The Valley Reporter was referring to the proposed House Bill H.422 of which Maxine Grad is the sponsor.
This suggested bill violates so many constitutional rights it will make your head spin. You merely have to be accused of domestic violence and you are subjected to unwarranted search and seizure. Now you must prove your innocence to get your belongings back. There are already state and federal laws that prevent anyone with a restraining order or convicted of domestic violence from owning or purchasing a firearm. This bill not only violates the Second Amendment but the Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth of the U.S. Constitution and Articles 1, 11 and 16 of our beloved Vermont Constitution of which Maxine Grad swore an oath to uphold. These rights are not anachronisms. On the contrary, they are rights every individual is born with and not "granted" by any human or government entity. Since 1994, domestic violence firearms deaths for the state of Vermont, overall, have decreased by 38 percent, according to CDC and FBI statistics. Vermont is the safest state in the nation and needs no new gun laws.
Blaire Scaglione
Warren
