So, Rep. PAL Longhurst goes into high dudgeon over the weakening of her bump stocks bill in the Senate. These amendments passed the Senate and are now part of the bill: SA 2(Delcollo) and SA 4(Ennis). While I agree with her, she is the last person who should make that argument. Lest we forget, back when she was still Rep. Val Longhurst, she totally caved to the NRA and that so-called Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association on a criminal background check bill back in 2013:
Seven, count ‘em, seven amendments have already been prefiled for HB 35(Longhurst), the criminal background checks bill. And these are only the so-called friendly amendments. In the immortal words of Casey Stengel while managing the inept New York Mets in their inaugural season:
“Can’t anybody here play this game?”
This bill should be the easy one. They’ve got the votes, no fuss, no muss. But, by paying undue deference to the NRA, they have become the Senate (United States version) Democrats, turning what should be defining statement victories into, at best, marginal progress and, at worst, defeat. The issue is larger than HB 35. The House dithering has emboldened the NRA b/c they’ve learned that they can run circles around the house managers of this legislation. That will make passage of other key elements of the gun control package far more difficult than it needed to be.
Which raises the question, why is PAL Longhurst sponsoring these bills? After all, she is hardly the leading gun control advocate in the House and possibly the least competent. The answer is she sponsors these bills because, as House Majority Leader, she gets to sponsor whatever bills she wants to sponsor. It’s a pure exercise of power. And, in her case, incompetence. And, as her track record points out, her remarks are totally hypocritical. Forget about Pistol Pete, ridding the General Assembly of Pete’s PAL Val would be the single best move that voters could make. Just ask anybody who works there. Hey, she now has her other job to replenish the ol’ coffers.
Let’s talk $101 mill, shall we? The latest Delaware revenue forecast predicts that the General Assembly has that much more money to play with this year. Where did that money come from? Well, the wealthy will be paying more because they got the Trump tax cut windfall. And, it appears that the Department of State is slow-walking escheat refunds. Of course, we immediately hear the usual suspects caution against building anything new into the base of the budget. By ‘usual suspects’, I mean John Carney and the Green Eyeshade Brigade. For the sake of argument, let’s go along with Carney and his, wait for it, ilk. I would first ensure that health care to Delaware’s poorest is fully-funded. No more Markellian cuts. Then, nothing puts more money back into the hand of workers more than fast-tracking some infrastructure projects. What do you think should be done with the money?
Assuming the General Assembly actually meets today (tomorrow looks like a lost cause), a key gun control bill tops the House Agenda. Well, it’s not first on the agenda, but you know what I mean. HS1/HB 330(Schwartzkopf) changes the age of a person to whom another person can sell, give or transfer a firearm or ammunition for a firearm from 18 to 21. Rep. Longhurst surely knows that the substitute bill is a much weaker bill than the original, and, yes, the pro-gun lobbyists are the reason why. Haven’t heard her blister Pistol Pete yet. Here are the provisions that were added to the substitute:
However, this bill permits a person to sell, give or transfer a firearm or ammunition for a firearm to a person under 21 years of age if the person under 21 is an active member of the United States Armed Forces or a law-enforcement officer or possesses a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon. The prohibition against the sale or transfer of a firearm to a person under 21 does not apply if that person is over 18 and the firearm is a shotgun or muzzle-loading rifle or if the ammunition is for such weapons. This bill does permit the transfer of a firearm or ammunition to a person under 21 so long as such transfer is without compensation and the person transferring is the parent or guardian of the person under 21 or has the permission of the parent or guardian.
You see, they want to prevent lawsuits. How about letting the AG worry about potential lawsuits, and stand your ground? Just once.
Although the amended bump stocks ban is not on the House Agenda, it would make sense to work it under suspension of rules. The last thing you’d want is to let the bill sit around so that the gun nuts could continue to take pot shots at it. Just pass it and send it to the Governor.
Sen. Bob Marshall’s teeny-tiny minimum wage increase bill is back on today’s Senate Agenda. Why it’s been on, off, on, off, and on the Senate Agenda is anybody’s guess. I smell Bushweller, but that’s just me.
SB 149 (Lavelle), which creates a fine for coal rolling, is also on the agenda.
Back tomorrow (?), Thursday (?)…well, I’ll be back sometime.