§ 1448B Criminal history record checks for sales of firearms — Unlicensed persons.
(a) No unlicensed person shall sell or transfer any firearm, as defined in § 222 of this title, to any other unlicensed person without having conducted a criminal history background check through a licensed firearms dealer in accordance with § 1448A of this title and § 904A of Title 24, as the same may be amended from time to time, to determine whether the sale or transfer would be in violation of federal or state law.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Licensed dealer" means any person licensed as a deadly weapons dealer pursuant to Chapter 9 of Title 24 and 18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq.
(2) "Transfer" means assigning, pledging, leasing, loaning, giving away, or otherwise disposing of, but does not include:
a. The loan of a firearm for any lawful purpose, for a period of 14 days or less, by the owner of said firearm to a person known personally to him or her;
b. A temporary transfer for any lawful purpose that occurs while in the continuous presence of the owner of the firearm, provided that such temporary transfer shall not exceed 24 hours in duration;
c. The transfer of a firearm for repair, service or modification to a licensed gunsmith or other person lawfully engaged in such activities as a regular course of trade or business; or
d. A transfer that occurs by operation of law or because of the death of a person for whom the prospective transferor is an executor or administrator of an estate or a trustee of a trust created in a will.
(3) "Unlicensed person" means any person who is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer or licensed dealer.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Transactions in which the potential purchaser or transferee is a parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, stepparent, legal guardian, grandparent, child, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepchild, grandchild, sibling, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, spouse, or civil union partner of the seller or transferor;
(2) Any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898;
(3) Any replica of any firearm described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section if such replica:
a. Is not designed or redesigned to use rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition; or
b. Uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade;
(4) Any muzzle-loading firearm designed for hunting or competitive shooting not requiring a criminal background check pursuant to federal law;
(5) Transactions in which the potential purchaser or transferee is a qualified active duty law-enforcement officer or a qualified retired law-enforcement officer, as such terms are defined in § 1441A of this title;
(6) Transactions in which the potential purchaser or transferee holds a current and valid concealed carry permit issued by the Superior Court of the State of Delaware pursuant to § 1441 of this title.
(7) Transactions in which the prospective buyer or transferee is a bona fide member or adherent of an organized church or religious group, the tenets of which prohibit photographic identification; provided, however, that no unlicensed person shall sell or transfer any firearm to any such person without having conducted a criminal history background check in accordance with subsection (f) of this section hereunder to determine whether the sale or transfer would be in violation of federal or state law;
(
Transactions involving the sale or transfer of a curio or relic to a licensed collector, as such terms are defined in 27 C.F.R. 478.11, as the same may be amended from time to time;
(9) Transactions involving the sale or transfer of a firearm to an authorized representative of the State or any subdivision thereof as part of an authorized voluntary gun buyback program.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no fee for a criminal history background check may be charged for the return of a firearm to its owner that has been repaired, serviced or modified by a licensed gunsmith or other person lawfully engaged in such activities as a regular course of trade or business.
(e) Any person who knowingly sells or transfers a firearm in violation of this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor. Any subsequent offense shall be a class G felony. The Superior Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction for all offenses under this section.
(f) The State Bureau of Investigation (the "Bureau") shall facilitate the sale or transfer of any firearm in which the prospective buyer is a bona fide member or adherent of an organized church or religious group, the tenets of which prohibit photographic identification, pursuant to the following procedure. For purposes of this subsection, the terms "prospective buyer" and "prospective seller" shall include prospective transferors and prospective transferees, respectively.
(1) The prospective buyer and seller shall jointly appear at the State Bureau of Investigation during regular hours of business, and shall inform the Bureau of their desire to avail themselves of the procedure set forth herein. The actual cost of the criminal history background check shall be paid by either the prospective buyer or prospective seller.
(2) The prospective buyer shall be required to submit fingerprints and other necessary information in order to obtain a report of the individual's entire criminal history record pursuant to the Federal Bureau of Investigation appropriation of Title II of Public Law 92-544 (28 U.S.C. § 534). In addition, the prospective buyer shall submit to the Bureau a signed affidavit stating that photographic identification conflicts with the tenets of an organized church or religious group of which the prospective buyer is a bona fide member.
(3) In the event that said background check reveals that the prospective buyer is prohibited from possessing, purchasing or owning a firearm, the Bureau shall so inform both parties of that fact and the transfer shall not take place.
(4) The Bureau shall maintain a record of all background checks under this section to the same extent as is required of licensed dealers pursuant to Chapter 9 of Title 24.
(5) The Bureau is hereby authorized to promulgate such reasonable forms and regulations as may be necessary or desirable to effectuate the provisions of this subsection.
