Senate Bill 3 requires a permit to purchase a handgun in Delaware. Before obtaining a permit, the prospective buyer would undergo instruction on safe handling of firearms, child safety and suicide prevention.
SB 3 passed the Senate April 1, 2021. It was released from the House Judiciary Committee May 11, 2021, and assigned to the House Appropriations Committee May 13, 2021. There it languishes despite House rules that require committee hearings take place within 12 legislative days.
Gov. Carney and the Senate and House Democrats have announced a package of gun bills they plan to pass and sign into law this legislative session. Among the bills are a ban on the sale of assault weapons, a limit on high-capacity magazines, and raising the age from 18 to 21 to purchase most firearms. Each of these bills will reduce gun violence.
But SB 3 is not in this package. I don’t know why. There is ample research showing that permit-to-purchase laws reduce homicides and suicides. After Missouri repealed its licensing law in 2007, the state saw a 16.1% increase in firearm suicide and a 25% increase in firearm homicide. Following Connecticut’s implementation of a licensing law, the state’s firearm homicide rate declined 40% and the firearm suicide rate declined 15.4%. Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
In a recent statement, Attorney General Kathy Jennings said, "The Senate passed SB 3 nearly 400 days ago. The House has the power right now to save lives by sending this bill to the governor’s desk; in doing so, it would have not only my support, but the support of 70% of our state. It is not too late for us to do the right thing.”
The General Assembly will pass meaningful gun legislation this month, but when the session ends June 30, SB 3 will, in all probability, be dead. For over a year, the Democratic House leaders have blocked our representatives from voting on an important gun safety bill. Delawareans deserve to know why.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
