Legislative counsel outlines Burlington charter amendment banning firearms at liquor-licensed premises

Legislative counsel Tucker Anderson on Friday reviewed a draft charter amendment that would add a new section (§5-10) to the Burlington City Charter prohibiting the possession of firearms on premises licensed to serve alcoholic beverages and setting criminal and civil penalties.

Anderson told the committee the proposal is “state law that is affecting just one municipality,” saying the provision is not an ordinance-delegation to the city but a special statute for Burlington. He said the draft “adds a new section 5 10 to the Burlington City Charter” and that “this is statute. It only affects the city of Burlington, but it is still statute.”

The proposal would expressly carve out two provisions of what Anderson and others referred to as the Sportsman’s Bill of Rights, creating an exception to the state preemption that otherwise bars municipalities from adopting gun-possession restrictions. Under the draft, possession of a firearm on any premises licensed to serve alcoholic beverages would be prohibited within Burlington; the language, as discussed, would reach premises that hold first- or third-class service licenses while excluding retail…