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Bill to Reform the Definition of a Firearm Signed into Law
Four months after it was overwhelmingly approved by the General Assembly with bipartisan support, a bill to reform how Delaware legally defines a firearm was signed into law on November 1st.
State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman (R-Townsend, Clayton, Smyrna), in photo, one of the prime sponsors of the new law (House Bill 357), said the definition it will replace was so encompassing that virtually any device that launched any projectile by any means could have been considered a firearm. "Under that language, a slingshot, a crossbow, and many other items were technically firearms," he said.
Delaware was the only state where firearms were defined so broadly.
"With our all-inclusive definition, firearms legislation often had unintended negative consequences," Rep. Spiegelman said. "Nail guns could not be used by former felons working legitimate jobs on construction sites. We were barred from legalizing airbows for hunting, even though they would be ideal for controlling deer numbers in populated areas. In many instances, minors could not use a paintball gun without technically violating the law."
The new legislation is the outcome of work performed by the Firearms Definition Task Force, which included bipartisan membership from both legislative chambers and critical stakeholders.
The Department of Justice had opposed changing the broad definition because it gave prosecutors wide latitude to charge people with firearms crimes, even when a gun was not involved. "During the task force's work on this issue, the DOJ argued for maintaining the status quo, promising they would not abuse their power," said State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown), a prime sponsor of the measure. "That was problematic, not only because of the potential for citizens to wrongfully be charged with crimes but because it left a great deal of ambiguity in the Code."
Under the new law, Delaware's definition of a firearm will be similar to that used by the federal government and most other states: "A weapon from which a shot, projectile or other object is designed or may readily be converted to be discharged by force of an explosive, whether operable or inoperable, loaded or unloaded."
The legislation would also create the new term "projectile weapon," which includes bows, crossbows, airbows, weapons capable of firing an arrow, crossbow bolt, or spear, and air guns larger than .177 caliber. The approach resembles how the Delaware Code defines "deadly weapon."
Sen. Pettyjohn said Delaware's odd firearm definition had been on the books for about 40 years and had become more of a problem over the last decade as the General Assembly has passed new gun laws.
Rep. Spiegelman and Sen. Pettyjohn said the new law defines firearms as most people perceive them while allowing state prosecutors the tools they need to protect the public from people who pose a danger to themselves and others.
The new statute will take effect on February 1st.
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