General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 11, 2019

The gun bills have been introduced. Supporters and opponents have mobilized. Just remember: Pretty much every mouthbreather who opposes these bills has nothing better to do than to drag their butts to Dover.  About 200 of ’em.   Over and over again. In poll after poll, support for reform measures is overwhelming.  Here’s Matt Bittle’s twitter feed of yesterday’s dueling demonstrations.

Here’s what the bills do:

SB 68(Townsend) ‘prohibits the manufacture, sale, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, receipt, possession, or transport of assault weapons in Delaware, subject to certain exceptions.’. This is similar to the bill that was buried in committee last year.

SB 69(Sturgeon):

…creates an application process to obtain a handgun qualified purchaser card, to authorize the purchase of a handgun, or a firearms qualified purchaser card, to authorize the purchase of firearms other than a handgun. This Act then requires licensed importers, manufacturers, or dealers, as well as unlicensed persons, to require an individual to present the individual’s handgun qualified purchaser card or firearms qualified purchaser card before selling or transferring a firearm. In addition, similar to Delaware’s concealed carry permit law, this Act requires an applicant to have completed a firearms training course within 2 years before the date of application. Finally, this Act sends to law-enforcement information that is already collected at the time of sale, and required under federal law to be made available to law-enforcement. This change will aid law-enforcement in criminal investigations they already conduct.

SB 70(Sokola):

…creates the Delaware Large Capacity Magazine Prohibition Act of 2019. The Act includes clear definitions for the term “large-capacity magazine,” as an ammunition feeding device with a capacity to accept more than 15 rounds of ammunition. After enactment, possession of large-capacity magazine will be a class B misdemeanor for a first offense and a class E felony for any subsequent offense. Those who possess a prohibited large-capacity magazine when this Act takes effect must, by June 30, 2020, relinquish the large-capacity magazine to a law-enforcement agency in this State. This Act establishes a buyback program for large-capacity magazines, to be overseen by the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. 

True to his word, Sen. McBride has placed the bill in a favorable committee–The Executive Committee, to be precise.  Four out of the five committee members are likely to vote to release these bills from committee. That’s progress, folks.

There are five Rethuglican state senators who don’t give two shits if their constituents lose their healthcare.  We’re talking Colin Bonini, Greengrocer Hocker, David Lawson, Brian Pettyjohn, and David Wilson. All voted against SB 35(Paradee), which seeks to protect Delaware healthcare consumers in the event that Obamacare gets deep-sixed by the courts. If you’re a constituent of any of these senators, and if you’re at risk of losing your healthcare, you might want to ask them why they hate you. Oh, and if you shop at Hocker’s, you might want to get your groceries elsewhere. He doesn’t care about you. Why should you be putting money in his pocket?

Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report. 

There are two notable bills on today’s House Agenda.  The twice-delayed bill increasing the legal age for purchasing tobacco products is first on the agenda. A House Amendment has been introduced, but, even if it passes, it’s unlikely to impact passage of the bill. A return trip to the Senate will be needed if the amendment is added, but I think the votes are there in both chambers.

I’m a big supporter of HB 73(Jaques), which ‘is a first leg of a constitutional amendment that would eliminate from the Delaware Constitution the limitations as to when an individual may vote by absentee ballot’.  About bleeping time. The bill will have to pass in identical form in two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly.

The ‘Dr.’ Mark Brainard Fig Leaf bill is also on the Agenda.

The Senate Agenda features another bill designed to remove obstacles to voting, and I love this one as well. HB 38(Bentz) ‘establishes in-person early voting in Delaware beginning January 1, 2022. Registered voters will be allowed to vote in-person during at least 10 days before an election, up to and including the Saturday and Sunday immediately before the election at locations determined by the State Election Commissioner’. The bill passed the House, 34-6, all six opponents being downstate Rethugs. They know, just like we know, that, when people are able to vote w/o interference, they are more likely to vote D.

The bill could well be on its way to Gov. Carney’s desk. Whatever happened to that guy?