Will the NRA once again kill common-sense gun reform? It’s possible. The House is scheduled to consider HB 63(Lynn) today. The bill:
…revises the crime of “unlawfully permitting a child access to a firearm,” an existing class A misdemeanor under Delaware law. The offense is renamed “unsafe storage of a firearm” to place emphasis on firearm safety and proper storage. Under the revised statute, a crime is committed when a person intentionally or recklessly stores or leaves a loaded firearm where a minor or other person prohibited by law, or “unauthorized person,” can access the firearm, and the unauthorized person obtains the firearm. The unauthorized person’s use of the firearm to inflict serious physical injury or death is not an element of the offense, but is an aggravating factor.
Got that? The bill’s intent is to make sure that minors and other unauthorized persons don’t get access to loaded weapons. The bill passed the House last year, but was buried in Senate committee, thanks to NRA opposition. Senate leadership has promised that the bill will be brought to the floor this year–if it again passes the House. You’d think that’d be a no-brainer. But the bill was in some jeopardy b/c the NRA was putting a lot of pressure on at least one freshman legislator. As luck would have it, he’s my state rep, Ray Seigfried. Over the weekend, I expressed my strong support for the bill with him, and though he was non-committal then, he announced at tonight’s Arden Town Meeting that he would vote for the bill. He did the right thing, and it’s possible that hearing from people like me might have helped. Here is how you can do the same–regardless of who your state rep happens to be, courtesy of Delaware United:
NOW is the time to write to your State Representative to express your support for this bill – we’ve made it easy for you to do here. Then why not follow up with a phone call on today? And, if you can, we implore you to come down to Dover and testify on the floor. The opposition is sure to be out in force.What this bill does is simply place an important emphasis on firearm safety and proper storage in homes where people who are unauthorized to handle a firearm live or spend time – including children. It does not abdicate the rights of lawful gun owners, or place any unreasonable restrictions on anyone. It is a purely common sense piece of legislation. Yet, the gun lobby has been coming out in force. That is why we need your help.Read the text of the bill here and find a phone number for your Representative here. If you’d like to see a great explanation of what the bill will do when it is passed, watch this interview with Representative Lynn.
Speaking Thursday on the revised bill before the vote was postponed, the governor said he does not believe it is “sound fiscal management” even while he understands and sympathizes with DelTech’s needs.
…provides that it is the intent of the General Assembly to appropriate at least $10 million for deferred maintenance for the next 5 years to be deposited to the Fund together with such other funds as may be deposited by the College from sources including, but not limited to, tuition and fees, private funds, non-state grants and federal support.
Further, it is the intent that the General Assembly fully fund the College’s annual capital improvement request for Critical Capital Needs/Deferred Maintenance.