State Rep. Kim Williams's (D-Newport) House Bill 270 would create a civil penalty for any sale or display of ammunition that’s accessible to a customer without the assistance of the vendor.
She says she crafted the bill in conjunction with the Delaware State Police in an effort to reduce the recent increase in retail ammunition theft.
Williams cited comments from State Attorney General Kathy Jennings, saying "a large and substantial amount of Cabela's ammo ended up on the black market and ended up in the hands of drug dealers and other criminals, and that's the case in most if not all thefts."
Williams is referring to a reported at least 500,000 rounds of ammunition stolen from Cabela's Christina location in less than a year.
The bill would also require an ammunition retailer to include a description of their theft and loss prevention policies in their initial and renewal license applications.
If a retailer were to violate the ammunition policy, it would constitute a civil penalty. The first offense would result in a $1,000 fine, second offense would be a $5,000 fine and for a third or subsequent offense, the penalty would be $10,000.
The bill would also make ammunition theft a class G felony.
State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman (R-Clayton) voted to release the bill from committee, but asked Williams to consider making exemptions for certain types of ammunition.
“I’d like to talk to you offline about possibly exempting shotgun shells, which are not really the target caliber that we’re going for, quite like 9mm, .40 caliber, etc.," Spiegelman said.
Representatives from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), National Rifle Association (NRA) and Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association (DSSA) agreed with Spiegelman's request and asked for further technical changes, but did not speak in opposition of the bill.
NSSF Lobbyist Scott Kidner rose concerns over the future of an ammunition retailer's license if the Department of State does not find their loss prevention policies "acceptable," which is currently not outlined in the legislation.
NRA lobbyist Rick Armitage said the NRA is in support of ammunition theft becoming a class G felony, but he is concerned with the civil penalty fines imposed on an ammunition retailer.
"I don't know that you need penalties at that level going forward, unless it really becomes a problem in the future and the fines need to be that extreme," Armitage said.
DSSA President Jeff Hague asked for the ammunition retailer’s report of their loss prevention tactics to not be made available under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
“Businesses don’t want their loss prevention measures out there in public for somebody else to see, and that would also go for people who want to steal the ammo – you don’t want them to see what they’re doing to stop the theft," Hague said.
Williams said she received the firearm advocacy group's recommendations and will review them, but she does not promise to make the changes.
Seven members of the House Judiciary Committee voted to release the bill with some bipartisan support. Two Republicans and one Democratic representative voted against it.
The bill now awaits a vote on the House Floor before moving to the Senate.
