Gemma Seymour

A friend asked me at Town Meeting why there were armed police present. She felt intimidated by the police presence. I pointed out to her that they were there to protect us, and I meant that seriously.

One of the foundational rules of our democracy is that the people are forbidden to bring weapons to a polling place (13 VSA §4027, 17 V.S.A. § 2510), and a #TownMeeting in #Vermont #VT law qualifies. Furthermore, our Town Meeting takes place at #Brattleboro Union High School … #VTpol #VTpoli

Apr 14 at 3:24amWeb
Show threadGemma Seymour1d ago

Both Vermont law (13 VSA §4004) and federal law (Gun Free School Zones Act) prohibit weapons on school grounds.

The side effect of this is that a large gathering of people who by law must be disarmed means that if anyone were to decide to commit an act of terrorism or mass homicide, everyone in the building could be presumed to not have any means of defending ourselves.

Therefore, police are stationed at Town Meeting.