DOVER, Del. - The Delaware Supreme Court has upheld a state law restricting some firearm access for adults under the age of 21, reversing a lower court ruling that found parts of the law unconstitutional.
In an opinion issued Tuesday, Sept. 8, the state’s highest court ruled that House Bill 451 does not violate the Delaware Constitution by infringing on the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense, defense of family and home, and hunting and recreational use.
House Bill 451 was passed by the Delaware General Assembly and signed into law by then-Governor John Carney in 2022. The law generally prohibits people under 21 from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling certain firearms and ammunition. The law includes several exceptions, including for members of the military, law enforcement officers, and people with concealed-carry permits. It also allows certain supervised hunting, sporting, and recreational firearm activities.
The challenge was originally brought by Gavin Birney, the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, and the Bridgeville Rifle & Pistol Club, with a Delaware Superior Court judge previously ruling that the law placed too great a burden on the ability of 18-to-20-year-olds to possess firearms for self-defense.
That court found the state had an important governmental interest in reducing gun violence among young adults and that the law was connected to that goal. However, it determined the law’s restrictions on handgun access, along with concerns over Delaware’s concealed-carry permitting process, created a near-total burden on the right to possess a firearm for self-defense.
The Delaware Supreme Court, however, ruled that the lower court did not give enough consideration to the law’s exceptions, arguing that reviews of firearm restrictions must consider how available exemptions are when determining the burden a law places on a constitutional right.
In their ruling, the majority said Delaware’s constitutional right to bear arms is not identical to the Second Amendment and that Delaware courts are not required to follow the federal government’s method of analyzing Second Amendment cases.
Instead, the court said Delaware will continue using its own constitution when reviewing firearm restrictions under Article I, Section 20. Under that test, the state must show an important governmental objective, demonstrate that the law is substantially related to that objective, and show that it does not burden the right to bear arms more than reasonably necessary.
Justice Gary Traynor dissented from the ultimate ruling, arguing that House Bill 451 places too great a burden on the ability of law-abiding 18-to-20-year-olds to possess handguns for self-defense and questioned whether the concealed-carry permitting process provides a sufficient alternative.
Now, under the Delaware Supreme Court’s ruling, House Bill 451’s restrictions remain in effect in the First State.
