Bills to add higher education institutions to the Safe School Zone criminal offense, narrow the definition of firearms, and create a Voluntary Firearms Do-Not-Sell Registry all garnered enough support to be released from committee Wednesday.
Adding college and universities to Delaware's Safe School Zone criminal offense
The only bill that did not have bipartisan backing was State Rep. Cyndie Romer’s (D-Newark) House Bill 311, which would make it a felony to knowingly possess a firearm on college campuses.
Her bill comes just days after a fatal shooting occurred on Delaware State University's campus.
State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman (R-Clayton) expresses concerns for complications the bill could create for those with concealed carry permits.
He notes if someone possesses a legal weapon while walking on a university-owned sidewalk without the intention of entering the university, they would be in violation of this law.
Romer responded by explaining most universities already have gun-free policies, meaning if someone carried out Spiegelman's hypothetical scenario, regardless of this law's implementation, they would already be in violation of school policy.
"While you're not breaking a law, I understand that, you are breaking school policy. You are not allowed to carry," Romer says, but Spiegelman argues breaking school policy is not the same thing as breaking the law.
Romer notes she has support from universities and law enforcement on the bill, with officers expressing it will be easier for them to enforce a law versus school policy.
"It is not helpful for [law enforcement] to have people who have concealed carry to get involved in these types of situations. So what they also told us is that it is easier for them to enforce law than policy, so it would actually help them on the college campuses," Romer says.
Romer says she would consider Spiegelman's request to create an exemption for those carrying a legal weapon who are traveling through campus to get to another destination without the intention of staying on campus.
While the Republican members of the committee present did not support the bill, it gained enough votes to be released from committee and now heads to the House floor.
Refining the definition of firearms in Delaware Code
Spiegelman's House Bill 357 is the product of the work of the Firearms Definition Task Force, a body created last year to make recommendations on revisions to the definition of firearm.
In his opening remarks, Spiegelman notes the current definition of firearm in Delaware code uses the phrase “by mechanical means" when referring to how a projectile may be released, which he says implies weapons like crossbows, slingshots and airsoft guns can be classified as firearms.
To avoid this potential discrepancy, the bill creates a new category of weapons known as "projectile weapons," which would include things like bows, crossbows, airbows, and airguns.
“An overly broad definition, the way it is, allows for very, very little maneuvering of what is actually a threat and needs to be dealt with as a threat, and what is a piece of plastic," Spiegelman says, referring to airsoft pellets.
Under the legislation, the new definition of a firearm would be a weapon from which a shot, projectile or other object is designed or may readily be converted to be discharged by force of an explosive.
"What we are doing here is matching the federal definition of firearm that 49 other states have done," he says. "To the mind of most of us in this room, most of the general public, a firearm is that thing that goes 'bang' when you pull the trigger. According to Delaware Code, that is not the case."
The Department of Justice (DOJ) says they are not in support of the bill, citing concerns that splitting the definition into firearms and projectile weapons could impact case law and statutory interpretations.
"Our concern is that there will inevitably be new types of weapons that were covered under the old definition of a firearm, which are not covered under the current definition of projectile weapon, and we'll have to come back every time to the legislature to ask for for an amendment," Deputy Attorney General J.S. Taylor says.
Taylor also brought up that if the definition of firearms were to be changed in the criminal code, it could lead to costly re-litigation of settled cases, although Delaware General Assembly Division of Research Director Mark Cutrona disagrees with this sentiment.
The bill was ultimately voted unanimously by members present to be released from committee, but House Judiciary Committee Chair Krista Griffith (D-Fairfax) says she plans to follow up with DOJ on their concerns and can't promise a "yes" vote on the House floor.
Creating a Voluntary Firearms Do-Not-Sell Registry
House Bill 342 was the final bill heard in committee, presented by State Rep. Eric Morrison (D-Glasgow).
Morrison's bill would create a Voluntary Firearms Do-Not-Sell Registry, in which an applicant may voluntarily enroll for the purpose of being prohibited from obtaining a firearm.
"The main purpose of this bill is to reduce suicide deaths by firearms. In Delaware, suicides account for 51% of all firearm deaths," Morrison says. "Individuals may also wish to place themselves on this list when they are struggling with mental health issues up to and including suicide ideation, and if they find themselves considering harming someone when they are going through an especially psychologically or emotionally stressful time."
Under the bill, an individual on the registry may request removal no sooner than 30 days after they are entered on the registry. Additionally, an individual who transfers a firearm to a person in violation of the section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a class G felony for a subsequent offense.
The bill is modeled after Donna's Law, a legislative response to a woman named Donna Nathan, who struggled with bipolar disorder, who purchased "the only gun she would ever own," drove to the Tree of Life in Audubon Park in New Orleans, Louisiana, and shot herself in 2018.
Nathan's daughter Katrina Brees spoke in favor of the legislation during public comment: "My mom would have signed up for this list because she definitely did not want to die, and she always did everything she could to prevent her suicide."
While discourse around the bill was largely supportive, concerns over what would happen to any firearms the individual currently owns before voluntarily placing themselves on the registry arose.
Morrison responding saying while he initially planned to include provisions requiring relinquishment of firearms in the bill, he has since taken those measures out due to liability concerns from law enforcement.
Despite this, the legislation currently reads: "The Superintendent of the Delaware State Police shall create a Voluntary Firearms Do-Not-Sell Registry in which an applicant may voluntarily enroll for the purpose of being prohibited from obtaining or possessing a firearm."
Morrison says he was not aware of the phrase "possessing" in the legislation, and says he will look into correcting it to make sure the bill only pertains to the process of purchasing or obtaining a firearm.
The bill was unanimously supported by members of the committee present and awaits consideration in the House.
