Hundreds of Vermonters on Tuesday night debated proposed legislation that would expand background checks for gun buyers and impose other new firearms restrictions. At a packed Statehouse, the Senate Judiciary and Health and Welfare Committee heard testimony from supporters and opponents of the legislation, though opponents in the hall and nearby rooms where video was piped in easily outnumbered supporters. Several opponents pointed to Vermont’s rank in FBI statistics as the safest state in the country. They argued that Senate Bill 31 isn’t needed. “If I’m being assaulted on a city street, I’d rather have a .38 on me than...