Senate committee weighs Burlington charter change to ban firearms on alcohol-licensed premises

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Senate Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee heard competing testimony May 20 on S.131, a charter amendment from the city of Burlington that would prohibit possession of firearms on premises licensed to sell alcohol.

The measure, adopted by Burlington voters and now under review by the committee, drew arguments about public safety, municipal authority and constitutional risk. Witnesses included a Burlington bar owner who described on-site incidents involving knives and a recovered loaded firearm; legal advocates who warned the law could trigger litigation under recent Second Amendment precedents; and hunting- and gun-rights organizations that urged the Legislature to preserve statewide preemption of local firearms rules.

Mike Dunn, owner of T Rex Tavern in Burlington's Old North End, told the committee that he trains staff in de-escalation and considers firearms a special hazard in establishments that serve alcohol. "Guns and alcohol don't mix," Dunn said, summarizing his professional view. He recounted a nearly daylong hostage incident involving a man armed with a knife who fled police and entered his bar, and a separate closing-time episode when staff found a backpack containing a loaded gun and contacted the Burlington Police…