The Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence Education Fund invited every candidate for legislative office to respond to a series of questions about their support of tentative legislation under consideration when the 151st General Assembly convenes in January. 

 

Listed are contested races where either one or both candidates responded; unlisted are races where either neither candidate responded OR the candidate is running unopposed.

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Questions: 

 

GHOST GUNS: Recent technology has made it easy for any person - including criminals, terrorists, and other prohibited purchasers - to assemble a firearm at home. Self-assembled firearms can be built from kits ordered online, 3D printed, or milling machines and are referred to as ghost guns because they do not come with a serial number and are therefore untraceable. They bypass the background check system and often cannot be detected by metal detectors. Do you support legislation that prohibits the production of these unserialized firearms?

 

LICENSE TO PURCHASE: Licensing laws require a gun buyer to be properly trained on safety, and require an in-person application with law enforcement. This provides an additional safeguard against fraud or inaccuracies that could allow dangerous individuals to obtain guns. Licensing laws that require periodic renewal can also reduce gun crimes by helping law enforcement confirm that a gun owner remains eligible to possess firearms and facilitating the removal of firearms from people who become ineligible. Furthermore, licensing laws help to empower safe and responsible gun ownership. Do you support a licensing law?

 

ASSAULT WEAPONS: In recent years, Americans have witnessed some of the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. While handguns are the most commonly used weapon in single-victim homicides, nearly all of our nation’s deadliest mass shooting attacks have been carried out with assault weapons, a class of semi-automatic firearms based on high-power military designs that are designed to allow a shooter to rapidly and continuously fire at large numbers of targets while retaining control of the gun. Seven states have enacted laws restricting the sale, transfer, manufacture, or possession of assault-style rifles, handguns, pistols and similar weapons. Would you support placing restrictions on these weapons in Delaware, such as legislation that would ban the sale and transfer of semi-automatic assault rifles?

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