Top Democrats call for revival of bill to ban assault weapon sales

Gov. John Carney and other top Democrats in Dover are calling on the Senate to revive a bill that would prohibit the sale of an array of semi-automatic rifles.

Senate Bill 163 last week failed to pass out of the Senate Judicial and Community Affairs committee after a key swing vote, Sen. Greg Lavelle, R-Sharpley, said he believed the measure would violate the state Constitution.

His opposition added to likely no votes from Sen. Bruce Ennis, D-Smyrna and Sen. Dave Lawson, R-Marydel — each predictable gun control opponents.

Any piece of legislation that fails in committee typically is doomed. 

Yet, at a gun-control rally on Wednesday, the bill's sponsor, Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, said the legislation deserves a vote from the full Senate, even if that means suspending legislative rules.

A bill as consequential as a proposed ban on firearms that have been used recently in high-profile mass shootings should be addressed by all members of the General Assembly, he said.

"It would be an affront to democracy if legislation like this ... doesn't even have a chance to have a vote on the floor of the Senate," he said.   

The most controversial of a litany of gun control bills in front of Delaware lawmakers, Senate Bill 163, would block the sale, transfer or import of about 60 specific makes and models of firearms, including the AR-15 rifle, which was used in the February mass-shooting that killed 17 people at a Parkland, Florida high school.

Supporters say removing such semi-automatic rifles from retail shelves would result in a safer society. Opponents argue such a move would violate the U.S. and Delaware constitutions. 

Carney called the firearms outlined in Townsend's bill "military-style assault weapons," a term that bothers opponents, many of whom believe the phrase has been created to incite a fear of guns among the public. 

Still, Carney on Wednesday said that semi-automatic rifles, such as the AR-15 are fundamentally different from the "hunting shotgun" that he uses. 

The rally on Wednesday was organized by the Delaware chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Chapter leader Sarah Stowens said the group is lobbying lawmakers to pass a ban on bump stocks, assault weapons ban, and a so-called red flag bill that would allow police or family members to petition authorities to temporarily remove a gun from a person they believe is dangerous.  

At the rally, Townsend called Lavelle's constitutional argument against the assault weapons ban "dubious," and he said that Democrats during the upcoming election season will draw voters attention to the stance of the northern Delaware Republican.

In a column submitted to The News Journal, Lavelle said Senate President Pro Tempore David McBride should be blamed for the failure of the bill. 

McBride, D-Hawk's Nest, could have placed the bill in any number of committees, he said, but chose one with Ennis, a pro-gun Democrat.

"Senator McBride deliberately gave SB 163 the path of greatest resistance when he assigned it to the Senate Judiciary Committee upon its introduction in March," Lavelle said.

Each side of the debate has argued that the majority of the public is on their side. Last week, scores of pro-gun demonstrators filled the gallery of the Senate chambers, then stood and raised their arms when asked to show their numbers.

On Wednesday, gun opponents highlighted a recent poll showing that 73 percent of likely voters in Delaware support a ban on the sale of assault weapons. 

"The response was overwhelmingly that our state hopes that our legislature will act and enact common sense gun legislation," Stowens said. 

Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.