Posts tagged gun control

Guns, Guns, and Guns – Tarasoff 3.0?

No topic has been hotter in the Delaware legislature this year than gun control. Some view gun violence as a public health crisis and several industry groups have taken positions on the various gun bills. While we’ll briefly touch on some of the broader subjects being discussed, we’re going to hone in on how legislation this session has the potential to change the Delaware healthcare landscape in terms of healthcare professionals’ reporting requirements. Right now our general overall summary of the session from a tangle of proposals (with a few weeks to go) can be summed up as: yes red flag laws, maybe with many caveats on gun accessories, and no to weapon bans. Our major recommendation so far to the Delaware healthcare industry is that mental health professionals seek legal guidance in revamping their policies and procedures for dealing with patients who may be a danger to themselves.

The total number of filings on bump stocks, magazine sizes, purchase age, bans, and protection orders has already reached the double digits. While most of these bills that make it to the agenda clear the Democratic supermajority House, they seem to be stalling in the Senate – a la SB 163 the assault weapon ban that failed to even get out of committee – or get “ping ponged” back to the House with new wrinkles and amendments. Perhaps a reminder that the Senate is a one-vote Democratic majority and that Delaware is in many ways a purple state.  One bill emerged as a clear exception to all the rules. House Bill 302, the “Beau Biden Gun Violence Prevention Act” sponsored by Representative David Bentz, mustered unanimous votes and was signed into law in April. Known as a “red flag” law, it is the successor to House Bill 88 of 2013 which was proposed out of then-Attorney General Beau Biden’s office. House Bill 88 passed the House unanimously, but failed in the Senate. More ›

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