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Domestic violence bill heads to Senate floor

Delaware Public Media

 

 

Second Amendment rights groups failed to keep a bill broadening Delaware’s domestic violence statute from moving ahead in the state Senate.

 

The measure would bar those convicted of domestic violence against someone they are dating within five years from owning or buying guns.

It would do the same for those convicted of a violent crime against a person they lived with during the past five years.

The bill also reinforces that subjects of a restraining order must surrender their guns within 24 hours. Police will store any guns or ammunition seized and can also charge money for that service. The measure also would require those surrendering weapons inform the court how they did so.

 

Bill Rounds, a Delmar resident, says the bill violates due process rights if cops seize firearms before any hearing takes place.

"No one should be allowed to do this until at least we had one day in court," said Rounds. "Past experiences has shown that many of the judges in this country are anti-gun and they let this spill over in their decisions."

If someone has their guns seized, they also wouldn't be able to buy any new firearms while the restraining order is active.

This bill received major backing from former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who addressed the Senate last month.

Supporters outnumbered opponents by a decent margin during the two-hour hearing.

Many of them were domestic violence advocates, but clergy also weighed in.

Reverend Bruce Gillette from the Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington says the legislation wouldn't just help victims of domestic violence.

"I know there are good people out there who, if they had a gun and were angry, would use it and regret it for the rest of their lives. Don't just do it for the victims, do it for the potential offenders," Gillette said.

The bill was released from committee Wednesday and is on the Senate agenda Thursday.

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