DELAWARE- The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case challenging Delaware’s ban on assault weapons, effectively leaving House Bill 450, signed into law in 2022, intact.
Traci Murphy, executive director of the Coalition for a Safer Delaware, said in a statement, “Today’s decision demonstrates that gun safety laws are constitutional and that there are indeed limits to the Second Amendment.”
In a related development, the Supreme Court also declined to hear a challenge to Maryland’s handgun licensing law, which requires safety training, fingerprinting, and background checks before purchasing a handgun.
Delaware’s recent Permit to Purchase statute is modeled on Maryland’s law.
Background on HB 450
House Bill 450, enacted in 2022, prohibits the sale, transfer, and possession of assault weapons in Delaware, with certain exceptions. The passing of the bill prompted an immediate legal challenge from the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, which argued the ban infringes on constitutional rights.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the case leaves the ban in place and affirms lower court rulings that upheld the law.