The first of these, House Bill 201, prohibits anyone other than law enforcement officers from carrying concealed weapons in areas designated as "Safe School and Recreation Zones." The second, House Bill 202, restricts anyone except on-duty officers from carrying firearms at polling locations and during live elections. The laws were officially enacted after Carney signed the bills at the Delaware Public Archives building in Dover, as reported by WBOC news.
The definition of safe school and recreation zones is broad, encompassing privately-owned sports stadiums, vehicles owned or rented by college professors, and private buildings used as recreation centers, as well as any area within 1,000 feet of these locations, as per the Delaware State Code of Regulations.
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According to the governor's official website, Carney believes these bills will help curb violence by banning guns at schools and polling places. However, this move has been met with criticism from some quarters. Republican state Senator Dave Lawson, for instance, argues that House Bill 201 contradicts the Second Amendment right to bear arms and is based on flawed reasoning, as reported by Delaware Live.
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Lawson was quoted saying, "Law enforcement has a right to stop anyone if they believe there's about to be a crime committed; they do not have to wait. They can intercede and violence does not have to happen for them to take action, so this bill really has a false premise."
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In June 2022, Carney had signed six other gun laws, which included a ban on assault rifle sales in Delaware and regulations on the age at which Delaware citizens can purchase guns. These laws were enacted immediately after the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which affirmed Americans' constitutional right to conceal carry for self-defense outside of "sensitive locations," according to the Legal Information Institute's summary of the case.
Currently, a lawsuit by 20 states challenging the assault rifle ban as unconstitutional based on the grounds of the Bruen decision is making its way through the court system, as reported by The Center Square.
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