Gun vendors could see new license requirements tooperatein the First State, if a bill introduced by Senate Pro Tem Dave Sokola (D-Newark) makes it through the general assembly by June 30.
If enacted, the proposed law would direct Delaware State Police to create anadditionalDelaware-specific license to sell deadly weapons, adding to the Federal Firearms License overseen by the ATF.
“This legislation is necessary,” Sokola said.“...We've made a good faith effort toboth be reasonable but also responsible.”
Giffords Center to Prevent Gun Violencesays nearly 20 states have a similar licensing requirement in place.
To sell guns in the US, federal law requires a Federal Firearms License (FLL). These need to be renewed every three years.
Key requirements in the federal application include US citizenship, being 21 or older, meeting legal requirements to own a firearm, and a properly zoned location for business.
In Delaware, FLL license holders also need to register annually as a Deadly Weapons Dealer. It entails having theft and loss prevention policies and records of purchases that are available on state request.
Sokola’s legislation increases standards for vendors on record keeping, reporting to the state, and security.
Delaware’s approximately 140 FLL license holders would report gun trace requests it receives from law enforcement to the Attorney General’s office annually. And the AG’s office would compile these into a report for the public.
Josh Scharff is general counsel and director of programs at Brady, a gun reform group. He said a small portion of gun dealers are traced to a majority of the guns affiliated with crime.
“The (ATF) has been under resourced and underfunded for so long that it's really unable to conduct robust enforcement across the country,” Scharff said.
The ATF has purchase reporting requirements for vendors. But Scharff said these leave holes in enforcement, as violators of inspection rules often go unpunished.
House Minority Whip Jeff Spiegelman (R-Clayton) led an effort to clarify firearm definitions during Delaware’s last legislative session. He said the bill’s surveillance provision, “makes it more difficult to purchase a firearm for law abiding citizen, and I find that worrisome.”
One of SB 300’s provisions asks vendors to have a functioning digital surveillance system at “key areas” like entrances and exits.
Spiegelman also said bipartisan legislation from 2022 on background checks hasn’t reached its full potential. And creating new police programming for SB 300 will divert from that.
“Every person who is hired to do the job of managing these FFLs is a person who could have been at the state background check system,” Spiegelman said.
After delayed implementation, Delaware’s State Police 2024 report said Firearms Transaction Approval Program investigations led to77 arrests and seizure of 12 illegal firearms. According to the 2025 report, FTAP completed 229 investigations and as many arrests that year. It also seized 61guns.
In 2024, the program cost $130 thousand for the state. In 2025, that bumped to $175 thousand, and then $180 thousand in 2026. The recommended amount for 2027 is more than $190 thousand.
Spiegelman said before people make up their minds on this issue, “they should look into the requirements to be an FFL owner.”
But Everytown for Gun Safety’s Marianne Mitchem said during a press call for SB 300 Monday that the existing programs don’t circumvent vendors who are–knowingly or unknowingly–selling to weapons traffickers.
And trafficked weapons are disproportionately used for crimes.
“What's important to understand is that FFLs, the gun dealers, provide an endless supply of guns to traffickers, who in turn arm violent offenders and trigger pullers,” Mitchem said.
A 2023 ATF reportsaidthat year, more than 14 thousand guns associated with a crime were recovered in Delaware. And nearly 70 percent came from an in-state purchase. Mitchem said this indicates an intrastate gun trafficking issue– which SB 300 would help address.
She said federal laws don’t mandate safety or security measures for gun stores. SB 300’s requirements for security and surveillance come into play during law enforcement investigations, and act as a deterrent for unlicensed dealers.
“If the gun store is broken into, that surveillance footage is paramount in a law enforcement investigation,” she said.
She gave the hypothetical:a couple enters a business, one of them picks out guns, but leaves whenit’stime topurchase. And then their companion buysfirearmsfor them.
“...A lot of these instances are hard to prosecute because there is no video footage,” she said. “The surveillance footage is very important to that.”
Sokola said details on cost of implementing SB 300 are still being worked out. And he’s working with law enforcement on details of the bill. It waits for consideration in Sate Senate committee.
