Gun laws in Vermont

Vermont formerly had very few gun control laws, but in 2018, the state enacted laws requiring background checks for private sales, raising the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21 (16 if purchasing a long gun from a person who is not a federally licensed firearm dealer and the purchaser presents a certificate of satisfactory completion of a hunter safety course that is approved by the Vermont Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife),[1][2] banning the sale of handgun magazines that hold more than 15 rounds and rifle magazines that hold more than 10 rounds,[3][a] banning the possession of bump stocks,[5] and allowing police to seek a court order to seize guns from anyone deemed an extreme risk.

[6][7] The portion of the law dealing with high capacity magazines has recently been challenged as unconstitutional under Vermont's constitution based upon the right to bear arms (Chapter I, Article 16) and the equal protection clause/"common benefits" clause (Chapter I, Article 7).

State law preempts local governments from regulating the possession, ownership, transfer, carrying, registration or licensing of firearms:[11] Except as otherwise provided by law, no town, city, or incorporated village, by ordinance, resolution, or other enactment, shall directly regulate hunting, fishing, and trapping or the possession, ownership, transportation, transfer, sale, purchase, carrying, licensing, or registration of traps, firearms, ammunition, or components of firearms or ammunition.

This section shall not limit the powers conferred upon a town, city, or incorporated village under subdivision 2291(8) of this title.

"[14] The city of Rutland passed an ordinance to prohibit the carrying of weapons without permission from the mayor or chief of police but this was struck down by the Vermont Supreme Court in its 1903 State v. Rosenthal decision.

[15][16] In January 2013, the City of Burlington, Vermont's most populous municipality, approved an ordinance banning assault weapons and certain magazines within its limits.

[25] The only exception to this is in Title 10, which states that a "person shall not carry or possess while in or on a vehicle" a loaded long gun, but makes no mention of "openly" or "concealed.