Governor Jack Markell discusses the impact law enforcement had on creating new laws to help keep Delaware safer. Delaware has taken great strides in having stricter laws against people who are multiple offenders of drunk driving. The Governor says that there will be new approaches to funding law enforcement to put more state troopers on patrol to support local law enforcement. Delaware has adopted three new gun safety measures to help keep guns out of the hands of people deemed unfit and to help law enforcement stop gun violence.
Governor's Weekly Message
Governor Jack Markell
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Full text of Governor Jack Markell’s weekly message:
Delaware’s brave law enforcement officers take seriously their promise to protect and serve.
Whether they work at the state, county or local level, they leave their homes and head to their jobs each day committed to making Delaware more safe, and our communities an even better place to build a business or raise a family. They do their jobs with honor, and dignity – proud to enforce the laws that guide our great state.
Because of their strong support the last few months, our state has taken steps to pass new laws to protect public safety, particularly against violent crime. With the advice and guidance of law enforcement from across the state helping to support some great state legislators, Delaware will have in place new efforts including: DUI laws to combat drunk driving, particularly focused on those guilty of multiple offenses. When you make the decision to drive drunk, you put lives at risk.
To those careless or callous enough to become a multiple offender, this new law will put you in jail. New approaches to funding police efforts will put more State Troopers on patrol and support local law enforcement.
Three responsible gun safety measures will tackle the link between gun violence and intoxication and help keep guns out of the hands of those deemed by the courts to be unfit to purchase a gun. This gives law enforcement new tools to deal with firearms seized during felonies and other crimes. Although each of these new laws and policies may seem like common sense now, it took some fighting to get them done.
But law enforcement made clear they were fights worth having. When outside efforts to derail some of these bills began in earnest, our first responders decided to speak up and speak out, to make clear that public safety was more important than politics. They talked about the threats and violence they’ve seen firsthand and the need for more tools to help tackle them.
This summer, because so many legislators heard what our police had to say, those proposals become law; those tools become available and our state becomes more safe, as we work together to keep Delaware, moving forward.