Despite revisions made to SB 300, which creates a new license for Delaware gun dealers, it still received significant pushback from Republicans during senate floor debate.
Its sponsor, Senate Pro tem Dave Sokola (D-Newark) changed the legislation to decrease its oversights, dropping the requirement that vendors report firearm trace inquiries received from the ATF to the state Attorney General, and the Attorney General’s publication of an annual report.
"This legislation assumes dealers are acting in good faith," he said.
It establishes authority for Delaware State Police to inspect businesses of Federal Firearms License holders to make sure they meet requirements.
"The inspections allow them to come in and identify potential areas of weakness," Sokola said.
He said referenced an instance when a Delaware firearm dealer, "sold 19 of the same firearms over six months to the same person. One of those firearms was one-day-to-crime between the day it was sold and the day it was used in a crime...So that's clearly trafficked or straw purchase that that could have been prevented."
The bill originally included license fees dependent on the number of firearms a business sold or transferred. The revised bill sets a flat first time license fee at $300 and $250 to renew. A business has to apply for a license every two years and a background check every two.
State Senator Dave Lawson (R-Marydel) said it's the ATF's job to regulate straw purchases and gun trafficking. And others said that the law's requirement that dealers share ATF trace inquiries with state police effectively creates a gun registry, which are banned in the US.
Cara Wilson, a drafting attorney on the bill, said SB 300 doesn't create a registry because trace requests submitted by the ATF would only be for suspicious activity or illegally obtained guns.
State Senator Eric Buckson (R-Dover South) was skeptical.
"When this doesn't work, what's next?" he said. "Is this a door opener? That's really one of my greatest concerns."
SB 300 stands to affect Delaware's 137 Federal Firearms License holders.
Rob Hagan owns Best Shot in Lewes. He testified against SB 300.
"I've called the ATF multiple times to share information with them," Hagan said. "We work with the state police....Same thing with the ATF. If an FFL isn't working with his local law enforcement or the ATF, that should be a big red flag right there."
Delaware passed stricter laws against straw purchases of guns in 2018. The state's permit to purchase law went into effect last year, which requires people who want to buy a hand gun to undergo a training course. And the state re-implemented a firearm background check program within the last few years.
Opponents of SB 300 argued on the floor that the state should focus on enforcement of these measures. Sokola said that ATF investigations aren't responsive enough, and his measure will correspond with recent state-led efforts.
The revised bill also says Delaware State Police will set a requirement for footage storage that be made available for criminal investigations.
The bill passed on a party line vote and now heads to the House for consideration.
