WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)- State officials are calling for legislation requiring criminal background checks for private gun sales in Delaware.
Gov. Jack Markell, Attorney General Beau Biden and other officials, including former Republican governor and congressman Mike Castle, discussed the proposed expansion of background checks at a news conference Wednesday.
Under current law, background checks are required for purchases from federally licensed firearms dealers, but not for transactions between private sellers and buyers.
Officials said background checks for private transfers would help keep guns out of the hands of people prohibited from having firearms because of previous felony convictions or other restrictions.
The background check bill is part of a package of gun control legislation the Markell administration announced in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut.
