Delaware Democrats give final approval to handgun permit-to-purchase bill

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Senate Democrats in Delaware gave final approval Thursday to a bill requiring anyone wanting to buy a handgun to first be fingerprinted, undergo training and obtain permission from the state.

The bill cleared the Senate on a straight party-line vote Thursday and now goes to Democratic Gov. John Carney, who supports it.

Thursday’s vote came exactly one week before a federal appeals court hears arguments on Maryland’s decade-old permit-to-purchase law, which was declared unconstitutional by a three-judge panel of the court in November. Only a handful of other states have similar permit laws, some of which are facing legal challenges. North Carolina repealed its permit law effective earlier this year.

“This is a bill about responsible gun ownership,” chief sponsor Sen. Elizabeth Lockman, a Wilmington Democrat, said of Delaware’s legislation.

GOP lawmakers argue that the legislation violates the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. They also reject claims that a permit-to-purchase law will reduce gun violence in Delaware, saying criminals will ignore it in the same way they ignore current gun restrictions.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Hur transcript reveals Biden presidency’s profound and mundane moments </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Gov. Carney reflects on time as Delaware governor during his final State of the State address </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»>