First, let’s all pause and approve by acclamation a DL Superior Legislating Award for Rep. Ed Osienski. He never gave up, he consistently changed the legislation to attract votes, he worked to bring people on board, and he assembled a veto-proof majority that forced Gov. John Carney to admit defeat. Weed is legal in Delaware thanks, in large part, to the superb work of Rep. Osienski. A very difficult job very well done.
Have you read this recently?:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Yes, it’s a poorly-written sentence, almost certainly intentionally. But when so-called Second Amendment absolutists proclaim that this guarantees the rights of people to possess all the arms that they want, they routinely ignore the ‘A well regulated militia’ part.
I’m no constitutional expert (said Captain Obvious) but the term ‘well regulated’ implies, oh, I don’t know, government’s right to regulate firearms, at least to a certain extent, something the gun nuts never recognize.
Which is just one reason why I think that SB 2 (Lockman) has a good chance of passage. The bill…:
…does the following: (1) Creates an application process to obtain a handgun qualified purchaser permit to authorize the purchase of a handgun. While an applicant will incur costs related to fingerprinting and required training, a fee will not be charged to obtain the permit. A holder of a valid concealed carry permit, a qualified law-enforcement officer, and a qualified retired law-enforcement officer are not required to obtain or present a handgun qualified purchaser permit. (2) Prohibits a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, as well as unlicensed persons, from selling or transferring a handgun to an individual unless the individual has a handgun qualified purchaser permit. (3) Requires that an applicant complete a firearms training course within 5 years before the date of application, similar to what is required by Delaware’s concealed carry permit law. (4) Makes clear that § 904A of Title 24 is not intended to prohibit law-enforcement officials from keeping records. (5) Requires the Department of Safety and Homeland Security to develop and administer a firearms training voucher program for low-income residents to provide low-income residents with a voucher to cover the costs of the firearms training course required under Section 1 of this Act.
The shorthand is ‘Permit To Purchase’. Because the ‘right of the people to keep and bear arms’ should be ‘well regulated’. The bill is on Wednesday’s Judiciary Committee Agenda.
We’ve had a tidal wave of important new bills in the past week. Also a couple of really bad bills from the Rethugs. I’ll discuss them all as they begin to pop up on committee agendas. Starting tomorrow as there are no committee meetings scheduled for today.
Today’s Senate Agenda features two bills addressing animal cruelty.
There is one notable bill on today’s House Agenda. Assuming SB 39 (Sokola) passes, which it will, there will no longer be mandatory post-midnight Special Sessions on June 30 in Dover as this is the second leg of this constitutional amendment.
Back tomorrow with a Magnum Opus Committee Meeting Edition of the Post-Game/Pre-Game.