The Delaware General Assembly passed a few firearm bills this year, and a few more are hung up and can be brought back next year. (Photo by Mariusz Blach/Adobe Stock)
Delaware’s state legislature is not immune to the national discussions on key societal issues, such as firearms.
With this year’s legislative session ending Sunday, here’s a look at the bills relating to guns that passed in 2024:
House Bill 357 – definition of “firearm”
Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, R-Clayton, the bill derives from a task force charged with updating the state’s definition of “firearm.”
One reason for a new definition is due to Delaware’s general and large definition of a “firearm,” in which any device that launches any object by any means is considered a firearm under current law.
That would include nail guns, slingshots, crossbows, staplers, archery equipment, Air Soft guns and more if the police or a prosecutor wished to consider them as such.
This created issues, like if someone was outlawed from owning or using a firearm was a construction worker, per se, and using a nail gun on the job.