Can Vermont end gun violence?

2018 was the year that shook the nation–and Vermont–when it comes to gun violence and gun safety. Following the shooting deaths of 17 high school students in Parkland, Florida in February 2018, high school students around the country mobilized, walked out, and demanded change. When a planned Vermont school shooting was thwarted, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) reversed his past opposition and signed three new gun safety laws, the most comprehensive in state history. UVM sophomore Grace Walter describes how the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting that killed 28 people affected her and her hometown of Newtown, CT; Dr. Rebecca Bell discusses the role of guns in suicide and what young suicide survivors have told her; Sen. Philip Baruth outlines new gun laws being proposed in the Vermont legislature, and Clai Lasher-Sommers, executive director of GunSense Vermont, discusses her own experience as a survivor of gun violence and the new focus of the gun safety movement. (February 20, 2019 broadcast)

Grace Walter, U. of Vermont sophomore from Newtown, CT, gun safety activist

Dr. Rebecca Bell, pediatric critical care physician, UVM Medical Center, vice president of Vt chapter American Academy of Pediatrics, asst. prof. of pediatrics, UVM Larner College of Medicine

Sen. Philp Baruth (D-Chittenden County), author of gun safety legislation

Clai Lasher-Sommers, executive director, GunSense Vermont

Sen. Patrick Leahy: A life in politics, as told by Philip Baruth

Sen. Patrick Leahy has represented Vermont in the U.S. Senate since 1974 . He is the longest serving senator in the U.S. Senate. Philip Baruth’s new biography, Senator Leahy: A Life in Scenes, chronicles how Leahy, a Catholic and a Democrat, was never expected to win his 1974 election. Leahy was Vermont’s first Democratic senator and won several subsequent elections by razor-thin majorities. Baruth is a professor of English at UVM and a Vermont state senator. He served as Vt. Senate majority leader from 2012 to 2016. Baruth discusses Leahy’s legacy, elections and oppositional roles under Pres. Bush and Reagan. Baruth also talks about Vermont politics and his assessment of Gov. Phil Scott’s first six months. (August 2, 2017 broadcast)

Philip Baruth, author, professor, Vermont state senator