AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DISCHARGE OF A FIREARM.

Crime Education Firearms

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Chukwuocha
Last action: 2025-08-20
Official status: Signed 8/20/25
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

New Law on Shooting Firearms at Specific Places

This law makes it a crime in Delaware to knowingly or intentionally shoot a gun at homes, churches, vehicles, or places of business.

What This Bill Does

Creates the crime of discharging a firearm at a dwelling, place of worship, vehicle, or place of business.
Classifies this offense as a class E felony under state law.
Defines 'place of business' to exclude shooting ranges and venues for lawful gun practice.
Prevents charging someone with both this new crime and reckless endangering in the first or second degree for the same act.

Who It Names or Affects

People who knowingly or intentionally discharge a firearm at protected locations in Delaware
Prosecutors handling cases involving shootings near homes, churches, cars, or businesses

Terms To Know

Class E felony: A specific category of serious crime under Delaware law.
Dwelling: Defined in another part of the state code (§ 829).

Limits and Unknowns

The text does not list specific prison sentences or fines for a class E felony.
The law only applies to shootings that are done knowingly or intentionally, not by accident.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA 1

1 • Chukwuocha

Passed 6/17/25

Plain English: This amendment changes the law so that firing a gun toward specific places is illegal, while adding schools and colleges to the list of protected locations.

Changes the rule from shooting 'at' buildings or vehicles to shooting 'towards' them.
Adds schools to the list of places where you cannot discharge a firearm towards.
Adds institutions of higher education, like colleges and universities, to the protected list.

The text does not explain what specific punishments or penalties apply if someone breaks this rule.
The amendment only shows changes to lines in a larger bill, so it is unclear how these new rules fit with other parts of the law without seeing the full original text.

Bill History

2025-08-20 Delaware General Assembly
Signed by Governor
2025-06-30 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
2025-06-25 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable
2025-06-17 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HB 123 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
2025-06-17 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By House. Votes: 30 YES 1 NO 5 NOT VOTING 5 ABSENT
2025-06-17 Delaware General Assembly
Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
2025-06-11 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HB 123 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
2025-05-21 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 7 On Its Merits
2025-04-17 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DISCHARGE OF A FIREARM.
This Act creates the crime of “discharging a firearm at a dwelling, place of worship, vehicle, or place of business.” The offense is a class E felony.
The offense contains a provision that provides that a person may not be convicted of both a violation of this section and reckless endangering 1st or 2nd with regard to the same conduct. It also exempts a shooting range from the businesses covered by the statute.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Chukwuocha & Sen. Brown & Rep. Cooke

Reps. Griffith, K. Johnson, D. Short, Bolden, Carson, Ortega; Sen. Seigfried

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 123

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DISCHARGE OF A FIREARM.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Part E, Subchapter VII, Chapter 5 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 1460A. Discharging a firearm at a dwelling, place of worship, vehicle, or place of business.

(a) It is unlawful to knowingly or intentionally discharge a firearm at any of the following:

(1) A dwelling.

(2) A place of worship.

(3) A vehicle.

(4) A place of business.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Dwelling” means as defined in § 829 of this title.

(2) “Place of business” means a permanent physical structure that is marked with signage and within which a commercial, service, or other legal enterprise is operated. “Place of business” does not include a shooting range or other business the purpose of which is to provide a venue for lawful firearm practice or other lawful firearm uses.

(c) A violation of this section is a class E felony.

(d) A person may not be convicted of both a violation of this section and reckless endangering in the first degree, or both a violation of this section and reckless endangering in the second degree, with regard to the same conduct.

SYNOPSIS

This Act creates the crime of “discharging a firearm at a dwelling, place of worship, vehicle, or place of business.” The offense is a class E felony.

The offense contains a provision that provides that a person may not be convicted of both a violation of this section and reckless endangering 1st or 2nd with regard to the same conduct. It also exempts a shooting range from the businesses covered by the statute.