AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WEAPONS.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms or consequences of breaking the new rules.

Changes to Weapon Laws in Delaware

This act updates weapon laws in Delaware by changing how archery equipment and air guns are classified.

What This Bill Does

• Updates the definition of weapons in Delaware's law books to match recent changes made to firearm definitions.
• No longer classifies archery equipment and air guns as firearms, but still makes it illegal to use them in certain ways.
• Keeps rules against loading or discharging these 'projectile weapons' from vehicles, roads, or safety zones.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who own archery equipment and air guns in Delaware
• Law enforcement officers enforcing weapon laws

Terms To Know

Projectile weapons

Weapons that shoot objects like arrows or pellets, such as archery equipment and air guns.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify all the details of how these changes will be enforced.
• Doesn't explain what happens if someone breaks the new rules with archery equipment or air guns.

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WEAPONS.
This Act amends Chapters 1, 5, 7, and 17 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code to be consistent with the recent legislative change of the definition of a firearm in Title 11. This Act is needed to address public safety and enforcement concerns. Archery equipment and air guns are no longer classified as firearms and the proposed amendments would continue to make certain actions and activities with these “projectile weapons” prohibited, such as having these weapons loaded or discharged from a vehicle, road, or within a designated safety zone. The Act recognizes that there are certain actions and activities with “projectile weapons,” that should continue to be prohibited even though they are no longer classified as “firearms.”

This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to expand the scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court. Section 1309 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code provides that the Justice of the Peace Court has jurisdiction of the offenses being amended by this Act.