Delaware seeks to dismiss a lawsuit filed to overturn its recently enacted permit-to-purchase law.
Just hours after Gov. John Carney signed permit-to-purchase into law in May, the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.
The law requires those looking to purchase a handgun to be at least 21 years old and complete an approved firearm training course within five years of the handgun’s purchase date.
The plaintiffs’ complaint says the law is unconstitutional under both Delaware’s Constitution and the Federal Second Amendment, arguing it “restricts fundamental rights to keep and bear arms in common use for lawful purposes.”
The state motioned to dismiss the case last week, arguing the plaintiffs do not have standing to bring the case forward because the alleged injuries they will endure from delayed purchasing of a handgun are “speculative allegations" since the law has not yet been implemented.
Additionally, the state argues the Eleventh Amendment bars federal courts from hearing state law claims against state entities.
While permit-to-purchase was signed into law in May, the State Bureau of Identification still has 14 months to implement the licensing program.
The motion for dismissal also notes Delaware’s law is “nearly identical” to Maryland’s recently implemented permit-to-purchase law, which the Fourth Circuit upheld by a vote of 14-2 this past August.
The state intends to bring in five outside lawyers from New York and Washington DC to join a deputy attorney general in handling the case.
