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Originally Posted by Glenn E. Meyer
I thought that a local city in VT couldn't override state law and that Burlington had tried similar measures in the past that failed.
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They can't...
What they can do is once the 'ordinance' is passed, it can be sent to the Legislature on a request to ammend their City Charter...
However, this is an issue expressly set out as under the State's purview, and the charter can not be amended to outlaw guns, unless the State Constitution is amended to allow this...
The Council was told all of this by the City Lawyers, yet still went ahead with this silly move...
The only time the Constitution was challenged was in 1903 in State v. Rosenthal:
(Supreme Court of Vermont. Rutland. May 30, 1903.)
MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS--ORDINANCES--CARRYING WEAPONS--VALIDITY.
1. Const. c. 1, art. 16, declares that the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the state. V. S. 4922, prohibits any person from carrying a dangerous weapon, openly or concealed, with the intent of injuring another. Section 4923 prohibits a person, while a member of and in attendance on a school, from having in his possession any dangerous weapon. Held, that a city ordinance prohibiting a person from carrying within the city any brass knuckles, pistol, slung shot, or weapon of similar character, or any weapon concealed on his person, without permission of the mayor or chief of police, so far as it relates to the carrying of a pistol under any circumstances without such consent, is repugnant to the Constitution, and to that extent void.
http://www.guncite.com/court/state/55a610.html