For the second consecutive year, the only obstacle to passage of a badly needed law requiring a permit to purchase a handgun in Delaware is a vote in the Democrat-controlled House.
The Senate passed Senate Bill 2 (SS1-SB2) more than a month ago and sent it to the House. The House Judiciary Committee released it May 18, and it was assigned the same day to the House Appropriations Committee. A similar bill followed the same path in the last General Assembly. If history is allowed to repeat itself, that is where this bill will die. Committee Chair Bill Carson and House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf will bury it, just as they did a year ago.
The handgun permit bill is common-sense legislation. It would add Delaware to a growing number of states that require residents to complete a firearm training course and obtain a permit before purchasing a handgun. The logic is sound. Just as drivers are required to demonstrate knowledge of how to operate a car before receiving a driver’s license, gun owners should be required to show they know how to operate a deadly weapon before being allowed to own one.
The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions report cites the grim statistics that show both firearm suicides and homicides have reached record highs. The report also includes five evidence-based policy recommendations that will reduce firearm deaths. The first item on the list is to implement permit-to-purchase laws.
Most Delawareans – 70% – support a handgun permit law. The measure was approved by Democrats on a party-line vote in the Senate. Now it is time for Democrats in the House to act like Democrats and represent the interests of their constituents. Please let Schwartzkopf (Peter.Schwartzkopf@delaware.gov) and Carson (William.Carson@delaware.gov) know you want SS1-SB2 out of committee, passed in the House and signed into law this year.
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