Here's an extract from an email from Rep Danny Short who opposed the HB 58 mag bill.
OPINION:
House Bill 88 - Keeping Guns Out
of the Hands of the Mentally Ill
By State Rep. Danny Short
Many area residents have asked me about House Bill 88, a bipartisan bill aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.
From comments that have been made at my coffee meetings, and from e-mails I have received, it is obvious there is a lot of misinformation and misconceptions about this measure.
With that in mind, here is a re-cap of the bill and its current disposition.
Sought by Attorney General Beau Biden, and the result of a consensus among lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, as well as representatives of the law enforcement and medical communities, the bill was touted as potential model legislation for other states to emulate.
Before passing the House of Representatives, it was amended multiple times to address issues raised by both legislators and the National Rifle Association (NRA).
I
The changes led Shannon Alford, Delaware State Liaison for the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action to testify that her organization was satisfied with the final product. "Through a lot of hard work, our concerns ... have been addressed with the associated amendments [and] we have withdrawn our opposition to the bill. We no longer consider this legislation particularly threatening to law-abiding gun owners."
With the NRA dropping its objections to the measure, the bill passed the House on May 14th by a vote 40 to 1.
As amended, House Bill 88 would expand the existing requirement that mental health professionals must report to law enforcement officials those people they believe pose a danger to themselves or others. Police agencies would investigate such claims and report their findings, including whether they believe the individual has firearms in his or her possession, to the Department of Justice. After evaluating the results of the investigation, the Department of Justice could then decide to pursue a case in Superior Court, asking the court to issue an order declaring such an individual as a "person prohibited," requiring him or her to relinquish their guns.
People against whom such an order was being sought would have full access to due process; could present evidence and speak at their court proceedings; and would have the right to appeal the court's decision. Those that lost their court battle could later petition the court to have the order lifted and their firearms returned.
Under the legislation, all of the burden would be on the state to make its case and would require "clear and convincing evidence" -- the highest civil standard under Delaware law.
Between its passage in the House and its consideration in the Senate on June 27th, e-mail campaigns against House Bill 88 often demonized its intent and spread fear and misinformation about the bill.
In that poisoned atmosphere, 13 of the Senate's 21 members voted against the bill on June 27th, defeating it.
The bill could be reconsidered in 2014.
As a gun owner, avid sportsman, NRA member and Second Amendment advocate, I would like to see House Bill 88 enacted. I agree with the NRA, that this bill does not present a threat to gun owners and that it may help to prevent a tragedy by denying mentally ill people easy access to firearms.
That is a goal all Delawareans should support.
