The small town of Pawlet, Vermont – population 1,386 – has been feuding with Daniel Banyai for years over two shooting ranges he built on the 30-acre property he’s owned since 2013.
Neighbors complained about the noise and said Banyai and his friends were “super scary.” Town officials said Banyai built structures on his land without applying for any zoning permits.
In 2021 Banyai told the Associated Press his property, which he calls Slate Ridge, is a “safe and environmentally friendly place for people to discharge their firearms.”
None of that mattered to Pawlet town officials. After their initial zoning efforts failed, they sued Banyai in Vermont’s Environmental Court, which ordered him to remove the unpermitted structures and earthen berms within 135 days. Banyai ignored the ruling, and in February, the Environmental Court held Banyai in contempt of court. He has been racking up civil fines at the rate of $200 per day ever since.
“Respondent has demonstrated a willfulness, perhaps even an enthusiasm, for disregarding the Town’s Bylaws, this Court’s Orders, and the authority of the Judiciary,” Vermont Environmental Court Judge Thomas Durkin said in his order.
Attempts to contact Banyai for this story were unsuccessful.
Lawfare
After municipal and environmental laws failed, town officials approached Vermont State Senator Phillip Baruth for help. He quickly sponsored a bill making it a felony to operate a “paramilitary training camp” within the state.
Baruth, a liberal Democrat from Burlington, admitted he introduced the bill after Pawlet officials complained there was no state law that they could use to force Banyai to shutter his private ranges on his private property.
This week, Vermont’s Gov. Phil Scott – a Republican – signed the bill into law.
4071. PARAMILITARY TRAINING PROHIBITED
(a) A person shall not:
(1) teach, train, or demonstrate to any other person the use, application, or making of a firearm, explosive, or incendiary device capable of causing injury or death, or techniques capable of causing injury or death to persons, if the person knows or reasonably should know that the teaching, training, or demonstrating is intended to be used in or in furtherance of a civil disorder; or
(2) assemble with one or more other persons for the purpose of practicing or being taught, trained, or instructed in the use, application, or making of a firearm, explosive, or incendiary device capable of causing injury or death, or in techniques capable of causing injury or death to persons, if the person knows or reasonably should know that the practicing, teaching, training, or instruction is intended to be used in or in furtherance of a civil disorder.
United States Code defines a civil disorder as “any public disturbance involving acts of violence by assemblages of three or more persons, which causes an immediate danger of or results in damage or injury to the property or person of any other individual.”
The new law does not apply to “legitimate law enforcement activity,” or “educational institutions where military science is taught.” It also doesn’t apply to “self-defense instruction or practice without the intent of causing a civil disorder; firearms instruction that is intended to teach the safe handling and use of firearms; and any lawful sports or activities like hunting, target shooting, and firearms collection.”
Anyone who violates the paramilitary training law faces up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
As you can imagine, the gun ban industry celebrated the new legislation.
“Today, Vermont joins 25 other states that prohibit firearms training for anti-government paramilitary activity,” Allison Anderman, senior counsel and leader of Giffords’ Guns & Democracy project said in a statement. “Private paramilitary activity is illegal in Vermont and has been associated with the intimidation of people exercising their constitutional rights across the US. This is a commonsense policy that will help reduce the spread of dangerous, illegal, and anti-government firearms intimidation.”
High Potential For Abuse
Vermont’s new law and others like it are – by design – so overly broad and vague that they could easily be used to force almost any private range out of business. It’s all about the definitions. After all, we’ve seen how one man’s political protest can become another’s insurrection.
Nowadays, what’s antigovernment? It’s no secret Joe Biden isn’t popular among many range-goers. Do RSOs now need to search vehicles for Let’s Go Brandon bumper-stickers?
What constitutes paramilitary training? Would teaching gunfighting rather than target shooting violate the law? How about Tac-Med classes or a mini-SERE course? How long before IPSC, IDPA or 3-Gun competitions are banned?
How is a firearms instructor supposed to know whether their students intend to use their training in furtherance of a civil disorder? Should they interrogate their students about their political beliefs? Do they need to issue written loyalty oaths and recite the Pledge of Allegiance before the safety brief?
Besides, we’ve all seen how the gun-banners and their sycophants in the legacy media pounce whenever they see an III-percenter patch or something similar at a pro-gun rally. To them, the whole crowd instantly becomes extremists rather than law-abiding Second-Amendment supporters.
I don’t know Mr. Banyai’s politics, and quite frankly, I do not care. He and his guests have a First Amendment right to assemble and a Second Amendment right to practice their riflery, regardless of what Pawlet’s 1,386 residents think.
The politicians responsible for these blatantly unconstitutional infringements should be ashamed.
This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.
About Lee Williams
Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.
It is anti-constitutional abominations like this that will be used to justify raiding gun owners and seizing firearms on the pretext that you and your three gun buddies are a ‘radical right-wing militia’ who should be locked up indefinitely because you have scary black guns, scary camo clothes, and are entirely way too accurate with whatever rifle you have (“They’re training to be terrorist snipers, your honor!”) …As if they can discern intent. BS!
Add another infringement in a very long list. So when is private property not private? Of course we all know, when someone doesn’t like what you’re doing. Mob rule is becoming the norm and we are running out of places to exercise freedom. There’s truly nowhere to secure the blessings of liberty from the overreach of the left.
Do any of the homeless campers on public land have permits ?
I’m not camping; I’m just scrambling some eggs after my nap.
Yet another blatantly unconstitutional law that is just meant to harrass and bully citizens out of their 2A rights… When is the supreme court going to issue a cease and desist? Now this guy has to spend enormous amounts to take this to court or give up… This is why the founders wrote, ”shall not be infringed”. That said, without knowing the actual situation and proximity to houses and exactly how much shooting these guys are doing and what hours they are doing it… That particular case may be valid in some way. But the state law is a joke,… Read more »
Bigred — hey you got yourself an upvote. ….good job. I’m gonna give you another one.
Usurpations?
Maybe it’s time to stop “training” ???
The Founding patriots would be done shooting and stacking enemy bodies by now.
And yet there are hundreds of musIim “paramilitary training camp” all across the United States and NOTHING is done about those.
Not only that, CAIR has a stated purpose of instituting Sharia Law in the United States and an Islamic flag flying over the White House. What does that sound like?
this doesn’t line-up with the vermont state motto, “freedom and unity”. seems like they don’t like freedom to do what you want on your own property and the only unity they want is for you to agree with them. that government agents want to use the law to prevent a private person from doing what they want on their own property that doesn’t hurt another is the epitome of tyranny. if the towns people and government agents are so scared of responsible firearm usage maybe they should move to a state like commiefornia where this could not possibly happen. there… Read more »
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”― George Orwell, 1984
Orwell warned society of this in 1949.
Another state motto that has become a bad joke! Like Vermont’s “Twin-state” New Hampshire’s (Live Free or Die). Both states have been invaded by liberals from MA, CT, RI and NY. Most are trying to escape the crime and high taxes there. The trouble is, they are now causing those same problems in VT and NH!
Republicans proving once again they despise your liberties just like Democrats. This bill sounds like it could have come straight out of 1930s Germany.
From the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 10:
A Bill of Attainder is not an easy case to make (https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/section-9/clause-3/bills-of-attainder) but…
From this article:
Bravo ,
The clause thus prohibits all legislative acts, “no matter what their form, that apply either to named individuals or to easily ascertainable members of a group in such a way as to inflict punishment on them without a judicial trial. . . .”
The clause protects individual persons and groups who are vulnerable to nonjudicial determinations of guilt and does not apply to a state; nor does a state have standing to invoke the clause for its citizens against the Federal Government.
Same story. Different liberals.
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…”
While the Militia is not by definition a para-military organization, the Fed’s control of the National Guard has eliminated that as a true militia. This will be used to also attack the militia. It is obvious that the leftards and other gun grabbers do NOT want us to have a “FREE STATE!”
Well, as long as Mr. Range Owner is not aware of plans for “civil insurrection” he’s not violating this bogus new “law”. They’d have quite the high bar to clear to PROVE beyond a reasonable doubt that he is knowingly and willingly and deliberately training his customers to participate in civil disturbance,and that that goal is key to their desire for training.
SHoulda bought his dirt outside of town limits.
Have you seen where his place is?
Honvend Security Solutions
https://earth.google.com/web/search/Honvend+Security+Solutions,+Briar+Hill+Road,+West+Pawlet,+VT/@43.38677507,-73.23600053,190.79166402a,4945.68918173d,35y,1.26347024h,44.58731588t,0r/data=CqcBGn0SdwolMHg4OWUwNmRkNmIyODJmZDU5OjB4NzVjMzIyZjVkOGM3ZjE1NhnhEcscgbFFQCFF9MakGk9SwCo8SG9udmVuZCBTZWN1cml0eSBTb2x1dGlvbnMsIEJyaWFyIEhpbGwgUm9hZCwgV2VzdCBQYXdsZXQsIFZUGAEgASImCiQJAdIVnGCBRUARyVtnM1pQRUAZXlPpQOQDUsAhDe7rvPdFUsA
Depends on where the jury comes from/court venue, doesn’t it?
BTW, ex post facto doesn’t apply if the guy now gets caught shooting or whatever on his property. They just can’t arrest him for violations from before the law was enacted.
What is it with these Democrats, Liberals, Socialists, Communists, Progressives, CRTists, Wokeists, etc.? Did I miss anyone? Why can’t they leave everyone else alone?
Because they are the New Taliban. But they only like the last three letters of “Taliban”, “Ban”. You can’t negotiate with terrorists; you defeat them and then you dictate terms. If there is something they don’t like, they’ll just have to suck on it until they do!
You left out RINO’s.
Massachusetts went through this over twenty years ago. They had a meeting in Worcester with the National Guard to discuss the proposed legislation. The proposed legislation didn’t mention civil disorder, it banned military training or sorts. The meeting drew historical reenactors because the way the proposed legislation was written would have banned marching, drilling and musket safety for reenactors. Talk about an innocuous group of people to target with the law.
It appears that someone forgot to read that first 13 words of the 2nd Amendment “ a well regulated militia, b
The politicians responsible for these blatantly unconstitutional infringements should be
ashamedforcibly removed from office and tried for treason.Fixed that for you.
And if convicted hung and their bodies left for the crows.
There, fixed it.
A similar fate fell upon a popular long-distance range in northern Alabama. The surrounding neighbors banned together to have it shut down & now there aren’t many places to truly stretch out your rifle & test your ability to hit targets out to 1,000 yards. Well, the CMP range in Talladega is an option. The larger issue here is that anti-gunners cry all the time that “OnLy CoPs & MiLiTaRy ShOuLd HaVe GuNs”. They argue symantics of what a militia is & should consist of ad nauseum not fully understanding the meaning behind the words written by our Founders. They… Read more »
In S. Florida people bought houses near Executive Airport and then complained about noise and had airshows banned.
They did the same thing at the end of the runways near NAS Boca Chica (Key West) and then cried about the noise from the aircraft!
No sympathy for whiners!
Happens everywhere, why do you think those “sound barriers” surrounding interstate highways are being built ? The developers have “encroached” on the transportation systems that they themselves promote as easily accessible to the new homes.
It has always annoyed me that Californicatora turned Riverside Raceway into a subdivision development.
That’s practically sacred ground.
…..was scared ground. .
Don’t forget this one.
https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/donald-trump-sues-palm-beach-airport-over-noise-levels-no-youre-fired-puns-youre-welcome-6454803
A well regulated Militia, being necessary for the preservation of a free state …… what part of that doesn’t those town people or their azzhole Senator understand?
WELL REGULATED means TRAINED and EQUIPPED !!!
I’m assuming that those ignorant townies are ski resort Liberals, like the ones that have ruined Colorado.
The divorce draws ever closer! I pray it’s peaceful but something tells me it wouldn’t be
I recommend Kurt Schlichter’s Kelly Turnbull series of books. I suspect they are an excellent prognostication of what will come! Antoner one avalalble on the interned as a .pdf file is John Ross'”Unintended Consequences”!
Unintended Consequences.
I heard a retired FBI agent today speaking about how the FBI went from a premiere criminal investigation organization looking for potential foreign terrorist, to seeking “home grown” terrorists. Like he said, what else are you going to do with all this massive built up money and manpower now that most of the post 911 threat is gone.
The Dept of Homeland Security is a big waste of our tax dollars and is a big phony joke! Thank you Bush#2!
Clear 1st amendment violation.
and this is another example of why EVERY PUBLIC EMPLOYEE SHOULD HAVE A PUBLISHED HOME ADDRESS
J.galt — You ain’t gonna do nuthin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_Ridge_Vermont
https://www.manchesterjournal.com/news/local/neighbors-slate-ridge-not-about-guns/article_8216575e-247d-11eb-9ce6-bf2884f5a03f.html
https://opengovus.com/firearms-license/6-03-021-01-WI-01014
It will never standup in court. First it is a violation of “Freedom of Assembly.” Second, it violates “Freedom of Expression.” Third, it violates the 2nd Amendment. Get this one to the federal court and sue for millions in legal fees.