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 #110940  by CorBon
 
Delaware bill would block teens from buying rifles, shotguns

Scott Goss, The News JournalPublished 1:17 p.m. ET March 1, 2018 | Updated 5:49 p.m. ET March 1, 2018


https://www.delawareonline.com/story/ne ... 384585002/


Democratic legislators in Delaware are looking to block teens from buying rifles, shotguns and other weapons, the latest in a series of gun control bills now working their way through the General Assembly.

The bill, introduced Thursday by House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, would raise the legal age limit to purchase long guns and long-gun ammunition from 18 to 21 – matching a similar federal restriction on handgun purchases from licensed firearms dealers.

"There’s no reason we should treat rifles or shotguns any differently," Schwartzkopf said in a release.

The Delaware State Sportsmen's Association – the local affiliate of the National Rifle Association – is opposed to Schwartzkopf's bill, calling it an inconvenience to law-abiding citizens.

"You're going to tell me that someone of legal voting age, who can serve in the military, can't buy shotgun ammo to go hunting without their mom or dad?" he asked. "That's not a solution. Better background checks, a better mental health system and better school safety, those are the answers."

State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, R-Clayton, also took exception to the bill's ban on ammunition sales to people under 21.

"This legislation absolutely, positively would shred hunting in the First State," he said. "If you're 18 through 20 and your parents don't live nearby, you can't hunt because you won't have access to ammunition. Obviously, that's not the speaker's intent, but that will be the consequence."

Age limits for gun and ammunition purchases have been a hot topic since a 19-year-old gunman used a legally purchased, semi-automatic rifle to kill 17 people at a Florida high school on Feb. 14.

Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods, two of the nation's leading gun sellers, announced Wednesday that they will no longer sell any guns or high-capacity magazines to people under 21 years of age. Dick's also plans to discontinue selling "assault-style" weapons.

President Donald Trump – who describes himself as "the biggest fan of the Second Amendment" – also has called for new federal age limits on long-gun purchases.

Schwartzkopf said Delaware "needs to lead on this issue."

"We need to learn from every mass shooting," he said. "We may not be able to stop every mass shooting, but we can try to help minimize the impacts.”

A confusing web of laws currently governs the age at which someone can purchase a firearm in the United States. And those age limits vary depending on the type of weapon being sold, who is selling them and the state where the transaction occurs.

A 1968 federal law requires most handgun buyers to be at least 21 but places no age restriction on rifles, shotguns and other long-barrel firearms.

Imposing age limits on long-gun sales has instead been left to the states, the vast majority of which allow an 18-year-old – the age of most high school seniors – to purchase an assault-style rifle from a gun shop.

Trump this week expressed frustration with that discrepancy during an interview with Fox News.

"It doesn't seem to make sense that you have to wait until you are 21 years old to get a pistol, but to get a gun like this maniac used in the school, you get that at 18," he said. "That doesn't make sense."

Only two states – Hawaii and Illinois – now impose an age limit of 21 on long-gun purchases, according to the Giffords Law Center. While other states set 18 as the minimum age, some – like Delaware – allow exceptions with authorized parental consent.

House Bill 330 would still allow a parent or guardian to purchase and then transfer ownership of a long gun to their child or sell one to the child directly.

The measure also would not alter existing law when it comes to the possession of any firearm.

Federal law prohibits the possession of handguns by anyone younger than 18, with limited exceptions. Toddlers, however, would still be able to own a rifle or shotgun given to them by an adult, even under Schwartzkopf's bill.

“As far as I’m concerned, nothing should be off the table when it comes to the safety of our schools, our workplaces and our places of worship," said Senate President Pro Tem David McBride, one of 23 Democrats co-sponsoring the bill. "Owning a firearm is a huge responsibility, and it seems backwards to me that we would allow anyone to buy a gun before we even trusted them with alcohol. We have to do more on gun safety – but this is a good start.”

The legislation introduced Thursday is at least the fourth gun control proposal being weighed by the Delaware General Assembly.

Gov. John Carney last week called on state legislators to help him craft legislation that would ban the sale of "assault-style rifles" in Delaware. That bill is expected to be introduced in the coming weeks.

Delaware lawmakers also are considering gun control measures proposed before the Florida school shooting.

They include a Democrat-backed bill that would ban the sale or possession of bump stocks – devices used in a 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire at a rate that rivals their fully automatic counterparts.

Carney in January threw his support behind a bill that would allow a judge to bar someone from owning a gun if a mental health worker tells police the person is a danger to themselves or others. A similar, Republican-backed measure also is pending.

Another measure moved out of a House committee last year seeks to crack down on "straw purchases," or buying a gun and then passing it own to someone barred by law from owning a firearm. House Bill 174 would increase the penalty for such transactions to a maximum of five years in prison.

Dennis Greenhouse of the Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence said the bills are part of a groundswell of support for gun control measures.

"Look, no one is going to come to your door and take your gun away," he said. "But I think people are starting to realize there is room here for common-sense restrictions, and that's what I think is being proposed in Delaware."

House Republicans say they plan to focus instead on improving school safety. The caucus announced Thursday that it plans to push a bill that would require every Delaware school to be equipped with one "panic button" that can summon police in an emergency. Another proposal would establish a program to award grants of up to $50,000 per school to address unresolved safety and security issues.

Similar bills, both introduced in 2013, were never released from committee.

Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.
 #110941  by California_Exile
 
Clearly the UD trap and skeet team is the problem. :roll:

OMG, a toddler can "own" a rifle! Yeah, no kidding. Pistols too, actually. I know this will be shocking, but some people actually regard some guns as family heirlooms. How much would I give to have the musket my 6x-great grandfather carried in the American Revolution? Or the rifle my 3x-great grandfather carried in the Civil War, or the one another 3x-great grandfather took with him in a covered wagon to go pioneer Utah in 1851? I'm disappointed enough I didn't get my grandfather's 1911 when he passed away, though fortunately a cousin who's a military officer gave it a good home. And you know what, if I had any of those guns, I would consider them to be trusts for my children (including the toddler) and my grandchildren yet unborn.

I swear it's like none of these hoplophobic idiots have any pride in their ancestors, any concern for their descendants or any skin in the game. Sad.
 #110942  by NCC
 
So if you want a gun in Delaware before you are 21 you will have to join the military, right? Could this be considered a loophole in the yet to be written law?
 #110944  by airman1968
 
This is such BS. Taking out a entire group of young adults from hunting and shooting sports. They just keep cutting away at our freedoms, soon they will all be gone and the next generation will be asking ," How did this happen?"