A Delaware judge has ruled that the state law that prohibits adults aged 18, 19 and 20 years old from purchasing a firearm is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.
Former Gov. John Carney signed legislation raising the purchase age to 21 back in 2022. The problematic law also created adult supervision requirements for residents under the age of 21 while hunting in the state, which drew pushback from hunters as well as Republican lawmakers.
In the ruling from the Kent County Superior Court, judges noted that several circuit courts had struck down similar laws affecting adults under 21, while several others had affirmed such laws. The ruling also included a discussion of adulthood, including whether 18-, 19-, and 20-year-old Delaware residents were considered adults by the state.
“The inclusion of 18-20-year-olds as adults has been codified in Delaware since 1972 in 1 Del. C 701,” the ruling noted. “The drafters of Section 20, legislating over a decade after the passage of C 701, knew 18-20-year-olds would be entitled to the rights codified by Section 20 ‘unless otherwise provided.’ The drafters of Section 20 did not ‘otherwise provide.’ Thus, Section 20 protects the rights of 18-20-year-olds to ‘keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for hunting and recreational use.”
Concerning the right to self-defense, the ruling noted: “Defendants have failed to show HB 451 does not restrict the right to self-defense more than is reasonably necessary. Prohibiting the acquisition and possession of firearms ‘completely eviscerates’ the right to self-defense. Allowing for some activities involving firearms—under the supervision of someone at least 21 years old—does not obviate that evisceration of the right to self-defense.”
Ultimately, the judges determined that the law could not be allowed to stand as it infringed on the rights of young adults under the Delaware Constitution.
“Article 1, Section 20 of the Delaware Constitution enshrined the right of citizens to ‘keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for hunting and recreational use,’” the ruling concluded. “At a minimum, some provisions of HB 451 infringe on the rights of a subsection of adults, aged eighteen to twenty, to exercise their right to ‘defense of self, family, home and state.’ Accordingly, those provisions violate the Delaware Constitution and are unenforceable.”
The victory came just in time for young adults to enjoy Delaware hunting seasons, which began September 1. A spokesman for the State Attorney General’s Office said the office is still “evaluating the Court’s ruling” to determine whether it will appeal the decision.
