Delaware Senate passes 'permit to purchase' handgun bill along party lines

The Delaware Senate approved a "permit to purchase" handgun bill across party lines Thursday, but not before hours of debate and voting on 15 amendments proposed by Republican lawmakers.

The lengthy debate mirrored the divide witnessed during the House of Representatives debate March 7, with Republican senators proposing various changes that they said would ensure no delays in issuing permits; give those denied permits ample opportunity to appeal; and make certain no “gun registry” is created in the process, among others.

The state Senate voted 15-6, divided along party lines, to approve the “permit to purchase” bill, requiring individuals to receive a permit and gun safety training before purchasing a handgun in Delaware.

RELATED: After hours of debate, Delaware House approves revised 'permit to purchase' handgun bill

Legislators have been working on the bill since 2019, and its sponsors and supporters have reminded opponents that they’ve had years to work across the aisle to make the bill more palatable. Those reminders were echoed in Senate Chambers again on Thursday.

Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman noted that the bill wouldn’t take effect for 18 months, giving departments time to prepare for implementation and legislators the opportunity for additional enhancements.

“I’m willing to work with you and other colleagues on some of these ideas and crafting future legislation to make the law stronger, but I'm concerned that these are not being offered to make it stronger or better, but merely as an effort to delay this life-saving law even further,” Lockman said on the Senate floor. “So after five years of debate and four versions of this bill, and twice included in the governor’s recommended budget, and 26 proposed amendments on this version alone … I think the time has come for us to send this bill to the governor.”

The bill now goes to Delaware Gov. John Carney for his signature, which he said Thursday he's looking forward to signing.

"We’ve made progress to keep our communities safe these past seven years. We’ve banned assault weapons, bump stocks, and high-capacity magazines," he said in an emailed statement. "We’ve passed red flag laws and prevented straw purchases. Passing this piece of legislation is another important step.”

Why lawmakers support the bill

Those who support the legislation say the measure would cut down on straw purchases of guns as well as homicides and suicides.

Sponsors of the bill say the “vast majority of crime guns” are pistols and revolvers, and 83% of Delaware’s crime guns are handguns. Plus, legislators say 70% of these crime guns are purchased in Delaware.

Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 2 would require applicants to shell out money for fingerprinting and the required training, but there would be no fee to obtain the permit.

Amendments passed in the state House remove the voucher program that would have provided financial assistance to low-income residents to cover the firearms safety training; make other technical changes, including language empowering law enforcement to ensure the surrender of guns purchased under a revoked permit and reiterating that information collected for the permit would be exempt from the state's Freedom of Information Act Law.

People who already hold a valid concealed carry permit, qualified law enforcement officers as well as retired police are not required to obtain or present a handgun purchase permit.

The House also passed amendments that exempt "certain professionals and individuals" from the training requirement "only if the firearm training they undertake as part of their employment meets the requirements for training set forth" in the bill.

While Republicans Senators attempted to undo some of the changes made in the House on the bill, their efforts were unsuccessful.

Why others oppose ‘permit to purchase’

Lawmakers who opposed the bill argued the regulations violate the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and warned that constitutional challenges would be brought against the legislation if passed.

Gun rights advocates have filed lawsuits on many of the recent gun safety reforms passed in Delaware; legal challenges that are happening nationwide.

LEGAL CHALLENGE: Delaware attorneys defend assault weapons, high-capacity magazine bans in federal court

It was among the concerns expressed by House Republicans prior to that legislative body’s vote on March 7, and some Senate Republicans also expressed concern for the bill’s constitutionality on Thursday.

While some of the lawsuits have continued to run their course through the legal system, Delaware attorneys have pointed out that the First State has yet to lose a case, bolstering their confidence that the bills can withstand constitutional challenges.

Marydel Republican Sen. David Lawson stressed that Republican lawmakers support efforts that will save lives, but their concern is centered around the constitutional right to bear arms.

“I know that we maybe don’t see it the same way, but I'm telling you right now, thousands of Delawareans believe like I do,” he said.

Lawson said lawmakers realized their proposed changes wouldn’t pass in the Senate, but wanted to continue the fight.

“They were specifically designed to recognize the bill’s passage, but to also say to Delawareans who are concerned, ‘hey, at least we can make sure what’s passed works.’”

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: 'Permit to purchase' handgun bill heads to governor for signature