(SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.) - Changes to a Delaware gun law concerning domestic violence offenders went into effect at the start of the new year.
"Well, firearms are, you know, made. It's a constitutional right to defend ourselves against a tyrannical government," said Joe Single, a gun owner.
Senate Bill 83 deals with guns and domestic violence. Under the changes in effect, any person subject to a family court protection from abuse order is prohibited from buying a gun immediately upon entry of the PFA.
This includes possession and ownership of a firearm. According to the act, if the offender owns a deadly weapon, they have 24 hours to get rid of it, and federal firearm dealers can now hold the impounded guns pending the case's resolution.
Clayton Anders is an employee at Hook 'Em and Cook 'Em Outfitters in South Beathy Beach. He didn't wish to be on camera, but he did have an opinion on the law. "Any domestic abuse, they should be stripped of their gun rights. It's a violent person. They shouldn't own a gun. A violent person - Why would you put a deadly weapon in a violent persons' hands," said Anders.
Anders explains the Delaware gun buying process to WRDE. He says if you're looking to buy a gun in Delaware - the first thing you should do is pick out the gun. Second thing, you provide identification. If it's a long gun, you only need one form of I.D., but if it's a pistol, you need two. Third thing, you fill out a background check form. It has basic identification questions as well as a questionnaire that will determine your eligibility if you can get that gun or not.
With the new changes, the definition "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" expands to include dating relationships and people who lived together at the time of the offense or within 5 years prior to the offense. Previously, the state and federal definition only included marriages.
"Flat out, it's a deadly weapon. Put in the wrong hands, it can be a very deadly weapon. If you have respect for that gun, you know what it does, it'll never be a deadly weapon," added Anders. "Guns aren't bad. A lot of people grew up using them as tools. I've used them to put meat on the table to feed families. I mean, hell, hunters feed the hungry. That's guns helping people who can't afford food. That's guns helping them."
Delaware is just one of nearly two dozen states with laws that specifically prohibit firearm purchase or possession by people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses.
According to the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, 75 percent of homicides in Delaware from 1995-2015 came between past or present intimate partners.
"I think everyone has a right to defend themselves through use of a firearm, providing they are a law-abiding citizen and have no arrests on their record," added Single.
Senator Gerald Hocker, who owns a hardware store which sells guns, said over the phone that any law protecting domestic violence victims is a good law.
Unlike federal law, Delaware only prohibits firearm purchases and possession by domestic violence offenders for five years following the offense.
Senate Bill 83 Summary: "This Act makes several changes to Title 10 and Title 11 of the Delaware Code relating to domestic violence. First, this Act amends 1045, Title 10 relating domestic violence protective orders to clarify the procedures related to the disposition of firearms in the possession of a respondent. Second, this Act amends 1448(a)(6), Title 11 to provide that any person who is prohibited from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon because the person is subject to a Family Court protection from abuse order is so prohibited immediately upon the entry of the protection from abuse order from purchasing or otherwise obtaining, and within 24 hours of personal service of the order, from owning, possessing, or controlling any deadly weapon. Third, this Act expands the definition of the term "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" in 1448(a)(7), Title 11 to include substantive dating relationships and people who have cohabited at the time of the offense or within 5 years prior to the offense. Finally, this Act amends Chapter 39, Title 11 to require that the court indicate on the record of conviction of certain, specified offenses whether the offense was a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence." This Act takes effect on January 1, 2017.