Senate advances S.209, dubbed Vermont Ghost Guns Act; committee amendment adopted 26-3, third reading ordered

The Vermont Senate on the floor advanced S.209, titled in debate as the "Vermont Ghost Guns Act," adopting a Judiciary Committee amendment by roll call vote 26-3 and ordering the bill for third reading. The measure would require that unfinished frames, receivers and firearms produced by 3-D printers or assembled from kits be imprinted with a serial number and pass a background check once they reach an operable or near-operable stage.

Senator from Chittenden Central, the bill's reporter, told colleagues the bill is intended to close a technology-driven loophole that allows weapons to evade the background-check system. "It does not prohibit somebody from producing a gun in their basement," the senator said, "but once it reaches the operable or near operable stage, you need to imprint it with a serial number at which time a background check is performed." The reporter said the measure includes definitions for "unfinished frame or receiver" and a mix of carve-outs for antiques, law enforcement property, and items manufactured before federal serialization requirements took effect in 1968.

Under the version presented, the bill creates three related prohibitions (possession or transfer of an unfinished frame or receiver, possession or transfer of an unserialized finished receiver or firearm, and manufacturing without serialization, including by 3-D printing) and specifies penalties: misdemeanor charges for initial offenses and escalating penalties for repeat offenses, with a felony if an unserialized firearm is used in the commission of a violent crime (up to five years in prison or a fine up to $5,000). The reporter emphasized that federal firearms licensees (FFLs) "may" imprint serial numbers and described the serialization process presented in testimony as typically done by laser and taking only minutes.

Members asked technical and drafting questions on the floor. One question raised whether the bill's temporary-possession carve-out is defined; the reporter said it is not defined in the bill and would be adjudicated by a court if challenged, adding that the carve-out is meant to cover temporary possession "for the purpose of having it imprinted." Another senator asked about sequencing in the manufacturing and imprinting language; the reporter committed to have the Judiciary Committee review possible clarifying amendments before third reading.

Senator from Bennington, who said he had seen examples in local evidence lockers and described a rise in ghost guns among young people in some counties, said the bill responds to a visible problem. "That convinced me that this was an important piece of legislation," he said. Other senators stressed the bill's intent is not to affect hunters, target shooters or lawful self-defense owners but to prevent evasion of background checks.

A recorded roll call was held on whether to amend the bill as offered by the Judiciary Committee; members called their votes and the chair announced "Those voting yea 26, those voting nay 3." The clerk recorded the result and the Senate ordered third reading of S.209. The reporter said the bill's effective date is December 31, 2024, intended to give owners of existing unserialized weapons time to have them serialized rather than to criminalize their possession.

The Senate did not take final passage on S.209 during this sitting; the body ordered a third reading to be held next.