The Open Thread for Saturday, August 3, 2013

Here are some local stories from the last week that merit attention:

The Wilmington Housing Authority’s gun ban will be considered by the Delaware Supreme Court. Two residents of Wilmington public housing had challenged the ban, filing suit in the Federal District Court of Delaware. District Court Judge Leonard Stark found the ban, which only bars guns from the common areas of public housing, to be reasonable and constitutional. So the two residents appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. That court has asked the Delaware Supreme Court to consider a question of law.

Specifically, Delaware justices will consider whether the WHA has the authority under the state constitution to limit the possession of firearms in its buildings and require residents to provide copies of their licenses to own and carry firearms.

Senator Carper is continuing to lobby for his postal reform bill. In a perfect world, his bill would just repeal Bush’s Postal Accountability Act, which is solely responsible for the debt and difficulty the Post Office is currently in.

GOP Chairman Charlie Lamont du Pont Copeland is already at work drumming up some non-scandal.

Last week, Markell’s office said his campaign donated about $28,000 to charity after learning they could’ve been illegal contributions from D.C. accountants.

Copeland contends that under Delaware law, a candidate has to return those contributions within seven days of knowing they were illegal. But Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove says that only applies if the donations are proven to be illegal.

“My reading is that the governor acted with an abundance of caution because he could not substantiate the contributions he received were illegal contributions and it didn’t make me think that I should take any further action,” said Manlove. “But now that it’s been brought to my attention again, I can investigate further.” Manlove says she’ll follow up with the Attorney General’s office to determine the next step in the process. Copeland sent letters to Manlove and Attorney General Beau Biden Thursday asking for a more thorough investigation.

I will bet my house that if Markell had not returned the donations, Copeland would have been attacking him for not returning the donations.