The Delaware legislature advances two deadly weapon-related bills during its first slate of committee meetings since Spring Recess.
State Rep. Mara Gorman (D-Newark) introduced legislation that would provide immunity to nonprofit organizations who distribute new secure gun storage and safety devices, ensuring they could not be sued if the device was defective.
Rep. Gorman says the purpose of the bill is to encourage nonprofits, largely hospitals and community organizations, to hand out gun locks to promote safe gun storage without fear of being held liable for a product’s failure to function properly.
The bill was voted out of committee for further consideration, but some representatives and National Rifle Association (NRA) Lobbyist Rick Armitage argue the protections should expand beyond nonprofits.
“No matter who has provided the lock, if it is an effective tool to make things safer, that liability should be extended to those same people," Armitage said during public comment.
"If I give away a free gun safety lock to somebody, I could be sued, but a nonprofit can't for the same thing?" Delaware State Sportsmen's Association President Jeff Hague asked. "So I'd really encourage you to look at this legislation more careful, and if you're going to give immunity to people for doing something right, make sure it's all people."
Armitage and Hague argue their organizations are some of the largest groups to provide gun safety instruction and products and that it would be unfair to not include them in the protections solely because they are not nonprofits.
Some representatives committed to voting the legislation out of committee on the condition that Rep. Gorman look into adding in the protections for retailers and for-profit organizations.
Lawmakers also advanced a bipartisan bill that would make switchblades legal in Delaware — the First State is among only a handful of states where automatic knives are banned.
“Right now, Delaware treats automatic knives as deadly weapons, even if people use them for everyday work or activities. So people actually using these knives right now are in violation of the law," the bill's sponsor State Sen. Jack Walsh (D-Stanton) said.
The bill would remove prohibitions around switchblade knives, but would still subject individuals to prosecution for deadly weapons-related offenses if the knife is used in an attack or assault.
Walsh explains these types of knives are often used as tools by tradesmen and popular among outdoor hunting and camping enthusiasts.
The bill would also change the definition of an "ordinary pocketknife" in Delaware Code from a folding knife with a blade no more than 3 inches to a blade no more than 3.75 inches.
The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
