Delaware Democrats Use Racist Gun Laws To Fight “Gun Violence”

Leftist lawmakers in Delaware are leaning on a 100-year-old gun control law used to prevent black Americans from owning firearms—but it is acceptable because they say they are preventing “gun violence?”

In a move cloaked under the guise of “gun violence” prevention, Leftists in Delaware have revealed their true colors after passing an unconstitutional firearm law with roots deeply entrenched in the sinister policies of the Jim Crow era.

The law, S.B. 2, also known as a permit-to-purchase law, will require all residents who wish to buy a handgun to first be fingerprinted, undergo training, and obtain permission from the state. Awfully Orwellian, but that’s sadly just the start.

Permit-to-purchase laws stem from the Jim Crow era when they were used as a tool to block black Americans from obtaining firearms without permission from the state or the local sheriff.

In 2023, the North Carolina legislature abolished its permit-to-purchase law, citing the racist history behind the legislation. Gov. Roy Cooper (D) vetoed the measure. North Carolina’s General Assembly voted to overturn the veto as they believed it necessary to “relegate this racist Jim Crow-era law to the ash heap of history,” according to Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

Despite the racist background of the law and other states deciding to move away from the unconditional measure, leftist in Delaware sing the praises of the law under the idea that it will lead to “gun violence” prevention. Just to clarify, the Left has switched its desired nomenclature for disarmament from “gun control” to “gun violence” prevention. Different terms that mean the same thing.

Do the Democrats Understand the Constitution?

The chief sponsor of the bill, Sen. Elizabeth Lockman (D-Wilmington) believes the law is about “responsible gun ownership,” but it seems that she forgot the meaning of infringing on the Second Amendment, as the law is clearly unconstitutional.

If the racist history of the law and the unconstitutional nature of requiring the state to approve a permit before someone can exercise their Second Amendment rights wasn’t enough, the permit-to-purchase system will cost the state an eye-popping $2.9 billion in only the first year, according to Delaware Gov. John Carney (D).

Delaware residents are essentially paying taxes that will go toward taking away their rights.

On the same day that Carney signed the bill, the National Rifle Association (NRA) promptly filed a lawsuit challenging the law in the federal District Court of Delaware. The case, Neuberger v. Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, aims to vindicate “fundamental civil rights being trampled on by overbearing legislation that defies controlling legal authority.”

“This legislation is a politically-motivated, ill-advised and unrealistic attempt to address the rising violent crime in Delaware,” the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association wrote in a statement. “[We] don’t believe in any way that legislation such as this will impact criminal behavior. It will only deprive those law-abiding citizens and law enforcement of the right to defend and protect themselves.”

(RELATED: Biden’s Aim Is Clear—Abolish The Second Amendment. Only Voters Can Stop Him In 2024)

Delaware’s decision to lean into a racist law that has a staunch history of preventing Americans from exercising their Second Amendment rights is a horrifying play to see on the Left, but it isn’t really outside of their play book.

The Left Loves Racist Gun Laws

The Left will go to any extreme when it comes to so-called “gun violence” prevention—and they have done it numerous times.

In the summer of 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States made a landmark decision in the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruencase that reinterpreted gun laws across every state. The decision required all firearm laws be firmly rooted in the historical tradition of firearm regulation. The ruling also reestablished every American’s right to carry a firearm.

Instead of rewriting laws so that they aligned with the ruling, the Left dug deep into American history and found numerous gun laws intended to keep black Americans and Catholics from owning firearms. None of the laws are active, and the Supreme Court’s decision clearly did not consider outdated and racist laws to be the “historical tradition” of the United States—but the Left persists.

Following the Bruen decision, leftist attorneys began referencing numerous laws from the 1700s and 1800s used to restrict slaves, free black people, Native Americans, and Catholics from owning firearms. They argued that these laws demonstrate a “historical tradition” of restricting firearm ownership required after Bruen.

“The reason that anti-gun rights Democrat attorneys are using old discredited racist gun laws from the past to provide historical tradition for current gun laws in light of the Bruen decision is because they have no valid arguments to make,” Second Amendment Foundation Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This is a losing argument that makes them look like they support racist laws staying on the books.”

Desperate for Any Legal Argument, No Matter the Origin

In California’s  Rhode v. Bonta and Duncan v. Bonta cases, attorneys cited hundreds of racist gun laws.

In Rhode v. Bonta, attorneys cited a 1740 South Carolina act that forbade any black person or slave from possessing or using a firearm without their master’s consent; a Virginia law from 1619 that restricted giving firearms to Native Americans; a 1633 Massachusetts law prohibiting Native Americans from possessing, trading, seeking, or repairing firearms; and a 1756 Virginia law that prohibited Catholics from owning firearms and required them to swear oaths of allegiance before justices of the peace.

In the Duncan v. Bonta case, attorneys cited an 1818 Missouri law, 1835 Arkansas law, and an 1804 Mississippi law that blocked any “slave or mulatto” from keeping or carrying a gun, powder, shot or club.

Gun Owners of America (GOA) Senior Vice President Erich Pratt told the Daily Caller News Foundation, “Anti-gun lawyers are openly citing racists and bigoted laws dating from the colonial era to the Jim Crow south to support their modern gun control agenda. Whether it was ‘papists’ or Native Americans in the early days of our nation, or freed slaves following the Civil War, it was all wrong, and solely meant to disarm people based on their color or creed, which is a direct violation of our Second Amendment.”

It’s almost comical to see the Left showcase their existing gun control laws while simultaneously defending them with racist laws used to strip the Second Amendment from Americans.

If there was any doubt about what the Left wants, it no longer exists, as they have showcased that they desire control by any means necessary.

(RELATED: Stripping Americans Of Gun Rights To Arm Illegals. What Could Go Wrong?)