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With a Smith and Wesson held to his head during a random robbery Rick Shindledecker had a clear thought. “I did not wish I had a gun, I just wished he didn’t,” said Shindeldecker, proprietor of Sharkey’s Grill in Dewey Beach, who was held at gunpoint for cash a decade ago. Better known as “Sharky,” he joins legions of people opposing a current bill to loosen restrictions on carrying concealed deadly weapons.
Despite passionate debate from the opposition heard in House committee March 2, the bill has overwhelming support in both chambers and appears likely to pass.
The House Public Safety Committee heard testimony and released the bill on its merits, voting 4-2, with one abstaining.
Looking like a sure shot from most angles, there could be some backfire on the bill, however, as Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, proposed an amendment Thursday, March 23, to require those carrying concealed weapons to have their permit on their person at all times, similar to a driver’s license.
“My heart is still with law enforcement and the citizens. I am voting against this,” said Schwartzkopf, a former Delaware State Police commander.
Police officers flocked to Legislative Hall for the hearing. Donning their uniforms and surrendering their own guns at the doors, hundreds of municipal and state officers protested the bill Wednesday, March 22.
“I am not against guns but there have to be some modifications to this bill, and if you want the right to carry a gun concealed you ought have your permit with you,” said Schwartzkopf.
Opinion is dramatically divided in Sussex County on the measure.
Rep. John Atkins, R-Millsboro, supports the measure. “I think this bill is about fairness, and constituents have a right under the Second Amendment,” he said. Thirty-eight other states have similar legislation on the books, he said.
Atkins said he did have concerns about where a weapon could be carried, but he noted that the bill forbids carrying a concealed weapon in schools and government buildings.”
Sponsored by Rep. Deborah Hudson, HB 359 removes the mandate that a citizen prove a need for a permit, and instead, requires the state to provide a legitimate reason for denying a concealed weapon request. The measure says that if an applicant successfully passes a criminal background check, completes a firearms instruction course and provides five character references, the presiding judge would issue the permit.
Another proponent of the bill, Rep. Joe Booth, R- Georgetown, said he feels the debate over the bill has been centered on gun control in general, not just the issue at hand.
“I simply do not see it opening a dam of people carrying concealed handguns, Booth said. “It just makes it a swifter process.”
The measure says that if an applicant successfully passes a criminal background check, completes a firearms instruction course and provides five character references, the presiding judge would issue the permit.
Led largely by Dewey Beach residents Sarah and Jim Brady, of the The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, opposition to the bill has been vocal.
Sarah Brady asked for analysis through a taskforce. “Putting more guns on the street is too serious an issue to rush into this.”
Jim Brady, press secretary for Republican President Ronald Reagan who was nearly killed during the 1981 assassination attempt on the President said, “Twenty five years ago, a team of eight law enforcement agents with the Secret Service were powerless to protect us from a disturbed man with a concealed weapon.”
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