DOVER, Del.- Delaware's state Senate on Thursday passed a modified bill to ban bump stocks and trigger cranks but the legislation isn't yet ready for Gov. John Carney's signature.
The Senate's amendments included lowering a first-time offense for possession of a bump stock to a misdemeanor and allowing people to continue to relinquish bump stocks or trigger cranks without fearing prosecution based solely on the fact that they had the weapon when it was relinquished. The changes require the legislation to return to the House for approval.
Sen. President Pro Tem David McBride (D-Wilmington Manor) said the changes were necessary. The legislation banned possession of bump stocks and trigger cranks after 120 days from being signed into law and immediately barred the sale, purchase, or transfer of the devices.
"It’s our job to do the right thing, to be thorough, and to be responsive to our constituents. Those objectives are not mutually exclusive; in fact, they are complementary and necessary," he said.
The Senate also struck down a proposed amendment for the state government to compensate bump stock owners who surrender the devices to comply with the ban.
House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst (D-Bear) was unhappy with the amended bill's return to the House.
"They are not toys, and this is not a game. They are destructive weapons like bombs, bombshells, firearm silencers, sawed-off shotguns and machine guns. They have no practical purpose in hunting, home defense or sport. As we saw tragically in the Las Vegas massacre, they only serve to fire hundreds of bullets as rapidly as possible," she said.
The Senate also passed legislation to stiffen penalties for straw purchases. That bill now heads to Carney's desk to be signed into law.
A vote on legislation allowing authorities to seize firearms from people deemed by mental health providers and police to be a danger to themselves or others was scheduled for a vote in the House on Thursday but was pulled shortly before that decision was to take place. The ACLU of Delaware had raised concerns about due process under an amended form of the legislation, which could be voted on as early as next week.
