Sponsored by the two highest ranking Black legislators in the Delaware General Assembly, Senate Bill 2 marked the latest effort to add Delaware to a growing list of state that require residents to complete a firearm training course and obtain a permit before purchasing a handgun — a measure proven to reduce gun-related homicides and suicides in other states.
SB 2 would have allowed Delawareans to obtain a permit to purchase a handgun as long as they had completed an approved firearms training course in the last five years. Qualified law enforcement officers, qualified retired law enforcement officers, and anyone permitted to carry a concealed deadly weapon by the State of Delaware would have been exempt from the training requirement.
After completing a training course, state residents legally eligible to purchase a handgun would then have needed to submit a permit application to the State Bureau of Identification, which would then have 30 days to fingerprint the applicant, confirm they are legally allowed to own a handgun, and issue a handgun qualified purchaser permit required at the point of sale.
SB 2 also directed the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security to provide vouchers that cover the full cost of firearm training for anyone whose household earned less than 200% of the federal poverty guideline.
The legislation included no application fees and placed no restriction on the number of handguns that could be purchased during the 180 days that a qualified purchaser permit is valid.
A similar permit law that was passed in Connecticut in 1995 has been associated with a 28% reduction in that state’s firearm homicide rate and a 33% decrease in its firearm suicide rate. Conversely, Missouri recorded a 47% increase in its firearm homicide rate and a 24% increase in its firearm suicide rate when its permit-to-purchase law was repealed in 2007.
Strong permit laws also have been found to help prevent gun trafficking and the diversion of guns to criminals. States with strong permit laws are associated with 76% lower rates of guns exported to criminals.
While SB 2 passed the Senate but was not taken up for consideration by the House, both Governor John Carney and House Speaker Valerie Longhurst have committed to pass permit-to-purchase legislation in 2024.
