The Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice strongly supports HB 124 which will prohibit the possession or purchase of deadly weapons by carefully defined categories of people who present a real threat of death or injury to others. It is a fundamental principle of gun safety legislation that guns should be kept out of the hands of people who cannot be trusted to use them properly, and this legislation will help to achieve that goal. It will reduce gun violence and save lives, and it therefore should be enacted. Specifically, HB 124 prohibits a person who is the subject of a Protection from Abuse Order and who knows or has reason to know that the protective order has been issued from purchasing, owning, possessing or controlling a deadly weapon or firearm ammunition in Delaware. It also prohibits the purchase of a firearm by a person who is a subject of an outstanding arrest warrant, active indictment or information relating to a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. In order for this prohibition to apply, the person must know or have reason to know that the process is pending. The CDC National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey reported that as many as one in four women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence. In 2007, 14 percent of all homicide victims in the United States were killed by intimate partners. Of those homicide victims who were female, 24 percent were killed by a spouse or ex-spouse, and an additional 21 percent were killed by a boyfriend or girlfriend (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics). The Senate recently adopted Concurrent Resolution 8, which declared that gun violence is a public health crisis in this state, and that ending the gun violence that is devastating Delaware is a policy priority. This resolution pointed out that 53 percent of female intimate partner homicide victims are killed by guns. Statistics also establish that racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence. That makes this matter an issue of particular concern to the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice. We urge the enactment of HR 124.
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