Gun-ban advocates in Delaware are cheering after Gov. John Carney signed four anti-gun measures on Aug. 15.
“We’ve made a lot of progress to keep our communities safer since the start of this administration,” Gov. Carney said at the signing. “The pieces of legislation we signed today and the other steps we’ve taken would not have been possible without the dedication of advocates who demanded action across our state, and our legislative partners in the General Assembly.”
House Bill 342 provides a way for lawful gun owners to voluntarily give up their Second Amendment rights without really providing a way to have those rights reinstated. In essence it establishes a program for those who wish to temporarily waive their own ability to purchase or otherwise obtain guns. While supporters say the law has a method to be removed from the “list,” it remains to be seen how that will work in practice. For one thing, a person could not have their rights reinstated for at least 60 days.
Of course, a person scheming to shoot up a school or other public place would never submit his or herself to such a list, nor would violent criminals who regularly use guns in commission of crime. Consequently, the chances that the law will have any impact on what supporters call “gun violence” are slim to none.
Equally disturbing is HB 311, which prohibits the possession of firearms on college campuses, with some exceptions for authorized individuals. Of course, this legislation could lead to confusion among concealed carry permit holders who may not realize they are on property owned by a college or university. Additionally, since criminals don’t follow gun-free zone laws anyway, they’ll be even freer to prey on unarmed citizens on campus.
The governor also signed two other measures—HB 155 and HB 270—which are also prohibitive. HB 155 requires secure storage of firearms in unattended vehicles. In states where “gun-free” zones are common, the government forces concealed carriers to leave their guns in the vehicle. Now they want to make that even more difficult by determining how they must be stored.
HB 270 requires licensed gun dealers to keep ammunition inventory inaccessible by customers without the assistance of an employee. Of course, that would require retailers to spend thousands of dollars to make sure their ammo was locked up, and still wouldn’t stop someone from stealing it if they really wanted to. The extra cost, of course, would be passed on to the consumer via higher ammo prices.
While lawful gun owners in Delaware will have their rights infringed by the new laws and criminals will ignore them, gun-ban proponents were quick to praise the Assembly and governor for passing and signing the law.
“Volunteers like me have been on the frontlines of advocating for stronger gun safety measures because we know that they can save lives. We’re grateful to have partners in the legislature and in Governor Carney who have joined us in this fight and made a safer future possible,” said Isheta Smith, a volunteer with the Delaware chapter of Moms Demand Action. “By keeping deadly firearms out of the hands of those in crisis and out of places where they don’t belong, these laws will save lives across Delaware and build on the progress we made earlier this year. Our lawmakers aren’t taking their foot off the gas for a second, they are demonstrating what a real commitment to gun safety looks like.”
Read the full article here
