With the General Assembly on its Easter Break, two controversial gun-control measures rapidly passed by the State Senate on Thursday are on hold for at least two weeks.
Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth Lockman (D-Wilmington West), would require that Delawareans wishing to buy a handgun first obtain a “handgun qualified purchaser card.” The original bill had been filed one week earlier, with the substitute measure being introduced the same day it was acted on by the Senate and passed by a vote of 13 to 8.
To get the card an individual would need to be fingerprinted, undergo a criminal background check, and successfully complete a firearms training course.
The legislation mandates that the course contain 11 components, including firearms handling, live shooting exercises, suicide prevention, and methods for avoiding a criminal attack and managing violent confrontation.
The bill also calls for the state to maintain a searchable database of all handgun transactions that could be inspected "by any judge, justice of the peace, police officer, constable, or other peace officer … in furtherance of an open criminal investigation or during the course of a criminal prosecution.” In most instances, the state would be required to purge the data after two years.
A handgun qualified purchaser card would be valid for a period of 180 days from the date of issuance. Those in possession of the card would be able to purchase handguns during this period.
The state would not charge a fee for the card, but the applicant would be responsible for any costs associated with meeting the requirements to obtain one.
In testimony during the virtual Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on the bill, many opponents said SS 1 for SB 3 would infringe on the rights guaranteed to Delawareans under the state constitution (Article I, Section 20) which states: “A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for hunting and recreational use.” Other complaints expressed during hearing noted that the bill would significantly delay handgun purchases and potentially add hundreds-of-dollars in compliance costs to the process -- a hurdle that could be impossible for many modest-income Delawareans to clear.
Speaking on behalf of the bill prior to its floor vote, co-sponsor Sen. Kyle Evans Gay(D-5th District) indicated that she believed the measure would discourage handgun sales. "SB 3 will protect men, it will protect women, it will protect children because it will tamp down on the proliferation of handguns in our state," she said. "And it's for that reason I am going to vote for SB 3 today."
Individuals licensed to carry a concealed deadly weapon would be exempt from the bill’s requirements.
Eleven states reportedly have laws similar to that proposed by SS 1 for SB 3, including Maryland's Handgun Qualification License law.
The second measure, Senate Bill 6, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem David Sokola (D-Newark), is known as the Delaware Large Capacity Magazine Prohibition Act of 2021. Introduced on March 25th, the measure would bar any firearm magazine with a capacity exceeding 17 rounds of ammunition.
If enacted, Delawareans possessing any magazines with capacities over the imposed cap would be required to turn them over to police in exchange for unspecified compensation through a future program that would be established under the bill.
Citizens found in possession of barred magazines would face a class B misdemeanor for a first offense and a class E felony for a subsequent offense.
The law would take effect 60-days following its enactment.
Both bills are pending assignment to a House committee. The General Assembly will return on April 20.
