Representative Pat Brennan

Elected in 2002, State Representative Patrick Brennan represents Vermont’s Chittenden District. Representative Brennan joined the Vermont Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus in 2009 and currently serves as Caucus Co-Chair. Over the years, Representative Brennan has been instrumental in the passage of several key sportsmen’s priorities, including HB 101 -- the Sportsmen’s Act of 2013. The Sportsmen’s Act, signed into law by Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC) Vice-Chair Governor Peter Shumlin, was a comprehensive package of pro-sportsmen provisions aimed at allowing the relevant agencies greater flexibility in managing Vermont’s fish and wildlife and administering various hunting and angling licenses. The bill also contained provisions that allowed for the possession of handguns during archery season and while training dogs, granted authority to the Fish and Wildlife Board to regulate the use of crossbows during hunting seasons, and allowed landowners the opportunity to legally post their property so that hunting, fishing and trapping would be allowed with permission. Most recently, Representative Brennan spearheaded a multi-year effort to legalize firearm suppressor ownership in the Green Mountain State. On June 17, 2015, GSC Vice-Chair Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law HB 5, a fish and wildlife omnibus bill into which Rep. Brennan’s standalone suppressor bill was amended during the final days of the 2015 legislative session. As a result of Rep. Brennan’s diligent efforts, suppressors became legal to own in Vermont for the first time in over a century on July 2, 2015.