Join the NRA-ILA and Delaware State Sportsmen's Association for a Freedom Rally where representatives from gun rights groups will answer questions about the gun bills bring heard for consideration in the coming weeks. We cannot stand idly by as anti-gun politicians try to pass their failed policies that do nothing to prevent crime, and only place more of a burden on law-abiding citizens. Please RSVP at the bottom of the page, and read the general summaries of the bills in question below. 

Senate Bill 68 - BAN ON SELF-LOADING SPORTING RIFLES, PISTOLS AND SHOTGUNS

1. Bans the private acquisition, sale, and purchase of a long list of popular sporting and self-defense rifles, pistols and shotguns after the law goes into effect – including America’s most popular and commonly owned rifle – the AR-15.
2. Robs you of the fair market value of your listed firearm - You will not be able to sell your banned rifle, pistol or shotgun – robbing you of the resale value.
3. You must register all currently existing banned firearms owned prior to passage of the law. (See “searchable database” in SB 69)
4. Your name, address and other identifying information and information about your firearms will be part of the registration process – possibly endangering your right to privacy.
5. You will not be able to buy one of these sporting or self-defense firearms after enactment of this bill.
6. You will not be able to bring a banned firearm into the state – you can take it out, but you can’t bring it back.
7. Merchants are banned from bringing any of these firearms into the state except to sell to government agencies.
8. Deprives you of the ability to defend yourself, your family, your home and your state with any of these commonly owned sporting arms – unless you own them now and register them with the government.
9. Deprives you of your rights under Article I Section 20 of the Delaware Constitution
10. Deprives you of your rights under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution
11. A Clinton Justice Department study proved that a similar ban (known as the Clinton Gun Ban) had no effect on crime or violence. Obama-era NIJ study reached same conclusion.
12. There is no empirical evidence that the ban this gun ban will have any effect, whatsoever, on crime or violence.
13. Individual law enforcement officers and their families are subject to this ban – no meaningful exceptions.

SENATE BILL 69 – PERMIT TO PURCHASE

1. Your name, address and other personal identifying information will be collected on a permanent basis by the Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security during the permit application process – potentially subject to discovery by the press, employers, insurance companies, landlords, political opponents and the general public.
2. Your firearms will be entered in a permanent “searchable database” along with your identifying information.
3. You must bear the expense of a time-consuming, complex training course every two years
4. You must obtain a separate permit for every handgun you purchase
5. You must obtain a separate permit for long guns – every three years
6. You must be fingerprinted every time you get a new permit (see #4 & 5, above)
7. You must submit to a new investigation by Department of Safety and Homeland Security every time you apply for either a handgun purchase permit or a long gun purchase permit ( see #4 & #5, above)
8. Only citizens can get a permit – green card holders and other legal aliens will become “prohibited persons” in Delaware, contrary to federal law.
9. Permitting process adversely impacts the poor and economically disadvantaged – and could be considered racist by some.
10. You may wait 30 days, or more to get a permit – either handgun or long gun – meaning you cannot defend yourself, home or family during those 30 days - and that the item you wish to purchase may be sold to someone else.
11. No exceptions for individual law enforcement officers, current or retired, or for their families, federal law enforcement or military.

SENATE BILL 70 – STANDARD CAPACITY MAGAZINE BAN

1. All of your standard capacity magazines in excess of 15 rounds will immediately become contraband subject to forfeiture and seizure – applies to handguns, rifles and shotguns.
2. No exceptions for off-duty law enforcement officers, off-duty members of federal law enforcement or off duty military and National Guard.
3. Racist – adverse impact upon poor and economically disadvantaged by rendering currently owned firearms originally sold with standard capacity magazines larger than 15 rounds useless, denying them the right of self-defense and/or forcing them to purchase after-market magazines that comply with SB 68’s new mandate.
4. $10 “government purchase price” for existing magazines illusory and far from fair–
   1. $10 equals a mere fraction of the original price of a standard capacity magazine
   2. $15,000 is woefully inadequate for government to pay for all of the standard magazines privately owned in Delaware today.
   3. There were nearly 48,000 NICS check last year in Delaware, alone
   4. Funding is subject to availability – which means it probably won’t be there when needed.
5. Shooter at Parkland, Florida High School used only 10 round rifle magazines – nothing larger
6. 15 round limit arbitrary and capricious – no empirical evidence that such a limit would have any effect on crime or violence - see Parkland shooter (# 5, above)
7. Arbitrary 15 round limit adversely impacts ability of law-abiding citizen to defend self, family & home and violates Article I Section 20 of the Delaware Constitution – also see Duncan v. Becerra, below.
8. In Duncan v. Becerra federal court found California’s ban (10 rounds) deprived citizens of the right to defend themselves, their families and their homes in violation of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, applying both the Heller decision’s tests and the Supreme Court’s test in Miller, as that ban applied to rifles that might be used by the citizenry in defense of the country.
9. Duncan court noted that the Glock 17 with its standard 17 round magazine is the most popular and widely used handgun for home and self- defense in America today.