John Carney wearing a suit and tie

Carney to sign gun bills today

Charles MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

Democratic Gov. John Carney will sign multiple gun control bills Thursday. The gun bills will ban the sale of assault weapons, raise the age from 18 to 21 to purchase most firearms, return background checks to state control, ban high-capacity magazines, open up the potential for lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers for gun violence, and ban the use of devices …

School Safety Lawmakers

GOP lawmakers: Invest in school safety, not gun control

Charles MegginsonHeadlines, Government

When a wave of mass shootings prompted Democrats in Delaware’s state legislature to introduce a package of sweeping gun restrictions, Republicans responded with a proposal of their own: invest more in school safety. House Bill 388, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Hensley, R-Odessa, would allow school districts, vocational-technical schools and charter schools to use money from the Delaware School Safety and …

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Delaware House votes to ban semi-automatic firearms

Charles MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

A controversial bill to ban the purchase of semi-automatic firearms in Delaware narrowly passed in the House of Representatives Thursday against the objections of every Republican lawmaker as well as some Democrats. The bill passed 22 to 19 and will advance to the Senate for consideration.  “The intention of this legislation is simple and clear: to make sure that the …

HC Magazine

Del. Senate again votes to ban high-capacity magazines

Charles MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

A bill aimed at restricting the capacity of firearm magazines passed in the state Senate Tuesday by a vote of 13 to 7.  Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 6 bans the possession, sale, purchase, receipt or transfer of magazines that hold more than 17 rounds of ammunition.  That’s higher than the 10 round-maximum in Maryland, New Jersey and New …

Kowalko 1

Delaware lawmaker apologizes after offensive suicide remark

Charles MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, said Tuesday night “gun worshipers” should “stick the barrel of your piece in your mouth.”  A casual observer may assume he was responding to a post about Tuesday’s mass shooting in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. In reality, Kowalko was talking about people who don’t want to wear masks despite the number of COVID-19 cases …

Background Checks

State would conduct firearm background checks under proposed law

Charles MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

A bipartisan bill to put state law enforcement officials in charge of background checks for gun purchases has been filed in the Delaware General Assembly.  House Bill 423, sponsored by Rep. Larry Mitchell, D-Elsmere, would reinstitute Delaware’s Firearm Transaction Approval Program, known as FTAP. Federal law allows states to conduct background checks through a state agency instead of directly through …

a small clock tower in front of a building

Weed, taxes, police reform likely to dominate end of GA session

Charles MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

With the year-long campaign to pass paid family and medical leave in the rearview mirror, the General Assembly returns to work Tuesday with two months left to focus on the rest of its progressive agenda. When the House of Representatives and Senate reconvene, they will be kicking off a two-month stretch to the end of the 151st General Assembly on …