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

After hours of debate, the Delaware House of Representatives approved a bill requiring training and a permit before purchase of a handgun.

House representatives spent nearly four hours debating 11 amendments proposed to the legislation, most of which were brought to the floor for the first time Thursday evening after caucusing for over an hour before debate.

Republican representatives attempted to table the bill given the considerable back-and-forth lawmakers had over the proposed changes, but the move was defeated.

House Democrats as recently as December had pledged to approve the bill when the full House reconvened in January, but inclement weather and uncertainty around Gov. John Carney’s rescheduled State of the State address forced the public body to remain flexible and keep schedules open, House Democratic spokesperson Jenevieve Worley had said.

EARLIER: Why Delaware lawmakers failed to vote on 'permit to purchase' in first weeks of session

Because the House revised the bill, it must now go back to the Senate for a vote, which likely will be added to next week’s Senate session agenda.

Carney also pledged his support for the bill, speaking confidently during Tuesday's State of the State address that it would be passed: "This year, we’ll take another big step forward and pass the permit to purchase law."

The final vote was 23 to 16. Two members were absent.

What does the latest bill do?

The House made several revisions to the bill that was sent to the legislative body by the Senate last year.

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

STRAW PURCHASES: How a pattern of shoplifting ammunition led Delaware to demand Cabela's records

The bill's sponsor in the House, Rep. Melissa Minor Brown, encouraged lawmakers seeking revisions to the bill to work across the aisle to develop additional legislation, reminding them that "permit to purchase" has been in the works since 2019.

"This legislation has been the product of years of discussions, meetings and collaboration with colleagues in this building, constituents, advocates and stakeholders," she said, adding that 123 people die and 577 people are wounded by guns in Delaware in an average year. "That is the fifth-highest rate of gun violence in the nation."

Minor Brown said that Delaware crime data shows that the "vast majority of crime guns" are pistols and revolvers, and 83% of our crime guns are handguns. Plus, she said 70% of these crime guns are purchased in Delaware.

"Senate Bill 2 will drastically reduce these statistics by creating a requirement for a handgun qualifier purchase permit," she said. "The bill would require people to undergo a gun safety training course and apply for a permit to qualify for the purchase of handguns."

While applicants must shell out money for fingerprinting and the required training, there will be no fee to obtain the permit, according to Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 2.

Amendments passed remove the voucher program that would have provided financial assistance to low-income residents to cover the firearms safety training, which the legislation’s fiscal impact note indicated would cost about $1.7 million annually.

The amendments to the bill also make technical changes, including language that empowers law enforcement to ensure the surrender of guns purchased under a revoked permit and reiterates 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. Other amendments passed Thursday 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.

The majority of the costs associated with the bill are for the staff and technology needed for the implementation and continued operation of the permit program.

The first year of the program’s implementation is estimated to cost about $2.7 million, for which Carney’s 2025 budget proposal includes nearly $3 million for the implementation.

By the second year, costs would climb to about $7.8 million annually – a figure that includes the cost of the voucher program. The bill’s fiscal note suggests that the voucher program wouldn’t be rolled out until the second year of its implementation.

What if it’s constitutionally challenged?

Delaware Republicans have come out in opposition to the bill, mirroring resistance by gun rights advocates to place restrictions on gun ownership.

House Minority Leader Mike Ramone said during a Facebook live recording reacting to Carney’s recent State of the State address that other states that have passed similar bills faced legal pushback.

“If we want to keep creating environments where we’re making our communities safer, why don’t we just make sure the bill is constitutional and not copy a bill that’s similar to Maryland or another state where they’ve already ruled it’s not constitutional?” Ramone said.

A U.S. appeals court last year declared Maryland's licensing requirements for people seeking to buy handguns unconstitutional, citing a U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded gun rights.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a 2-1 vote blocked Maryland’s 2013 law that required people to undergo training and background checks before applying for licenses to buy handguns, arguing it violated the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment, according to Reuters.

The lawsuit was backed and paid for by the National Rifle Association.

The ruling was cited by several Republican lawmakers during their final remarks before the vote on the legislation was taken, many of them warning that a constitutional challenge would be forthcoming.

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said during the House meeting Thursday that the 4th Circuit’s ruling will be reheard by the full court because the panel of judges that ruled on the case was not representative of the full 4th Circuit.

Two of the judges on the case were former President Donald Trump appointees, and the third dissented, office spokesman Mat Marshall said. Jennings also noted that the First State falls under the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and so whatever happens in the 4th Circuit has no bearing on Delaware.

"I am convinced this bill is constitutional and that the appropriate courts will rule that it is constitutional," Jennings testified Thursday evening. "My office is defending all the challenges to gun bills passed by this legislature, and I can tell you that as I stand here tonight, not one of those challenges has been successful."

Legal challenges on gun reforms

The Delaware State Sportsman Association in 2022 filed a lawsuit challenging state legislation that prohibits most people under the age of 21 from purchasing or owning a firearm, arguing it discriminates against a class of people who have a “God-given and constitutionally protected right to defend themselves.”

A Delaware Chancery Court judge later dismissed that lawsuit. Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III said the suit raised legal issues that don't fall under the purview of the Chancery Court. Delaware gun rights advocates sought a permanent injunction to prevent the state from enforcing the law.

The association, along with other gun rights advocates, also filed similar suits in the U.S. District Court seeking a preliminary injunction to block legislation that banned assault weapons and high-capacity firearm magazines.

MORE: Federal judge denies Del. gun groups preliminary injunction in assault weapons ban lawsuit

Judge Richard Andrews last March denied the request, writing in his decision that the gun groups “failed to meet their burden” of proving two necessary factors: The likelihood of success on the merits and irreparable harm in the absence of a preliminary injunction.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit over the state's ghost gun ban continues and a suit filed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation challenging Delaware's public nuisance law was dismissed in August.

Marshall defended Delaware’s “permit to purchase” legislation’s constitutionality.

“Permit to purchase laws have been on the books in this country for close to 30 years and, despite the NRA’s frantic efforts, none of Delaware’s gun laws have been overturned in court,” he said. “The leading cause of death for children in this country is not car accidents, not disease, but guns. This bill will help change that. If the gun lobby challenges it, we’ll be proud to defend it, and we’ll win.”

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 approved by Delaware House