Delaware’s new Attorney General is asking lawmakers to join his efforts to address gun-violence quickly.
Matt Denn is seeking support in the General Assembly for a bill that toughens sentencing guidelines for violent offenders caught illegally possessing firearms.
Currently, a juvenile violent crime conviction has no bearing on a person’s right to buy, own or possess guns - and the proposed legislation would prevent them from being able doing so.
The bill also calls for minimum mandatory sentences for those repeatedly convicted of illegally carrying firearms, whether the prohibition stems from a violent felony conviction or not.
Denn calls the changes necessary based on demographics of those committing the crimes.
“That’s largely because that’s who’s doing these shootings. We have people who are 21, 22, 23 years old who are not allowed to have a gun because of something they did when they were 16 or 17," said Denn. "We don’t want people to think that you get a free pass because you happened to do something when you were 17.”
Representative John Mitchell (D-Elsemere) sponsored similar legislation last year that passed the House 40 to 1 but didn’t make it to the Senate floor. He has more faith in his bill’s passage this time around.
“I feel really confident because of the continued violence in certain parts of our state that this bill is going to be effective. I believe – when talking to the attorney general and others – that we do have the support and hopefully we’ll get this done.”
State law already enforces mandatory-minimums sentences for adult convictions and the proposed legislation would not include offenses from when a person was 15 or younger.