None of the gun control measures that Joe Biden has demanded from Congress are included in the package cobbled together by a group of Republican and Democratic senators, but the Democrats in the president’s home state of Delaware are likely to give him much of what he wants, at least on a state level, before the end of the month.

Lawmakers are rushing to impose a raft of new restrictions on legal gun owners before this year’s session expires at the end of the month, including a sweeping gun ban that was narrowly approved along party lines in the state House late last week.

House Bill 450 House Amendment 1 imposes a ban on many commonly-owned rifles, shotguns, and handguns that law-abiding citizens use for self-defense and sport. The firearms banned are those from Maryland’s enumerated model list, as well as any other firearm with an arbitrary physical feature on Connecticut’s criteria list.

Citizens who own such firearms prior to the ban may continue to possess them, but the burden is on them to prove that they owned them prior. The state will provide the option for owners to apply for certification that banned firearms were owned prior. Banned firearms may only be transferred to direct family members or bequeathed to heirs. They also may only be possessed at, or transported to and from, certain locations, such the owner’s residence, shooting ranges, private property with the property owner’s permission, or licensed firearm dealers.

That’s bad enough, but Democrats aren’t stopping there. They’re also looking at bans on “large capacity” magazines, raising the age to purchase long guns from 18 to 21, and several other infringements on the right to keep and bear arms.

All of those measures have advanced in either the House or Senate this month and are expected to pass both chambers before the General Assembly adjourns on June 30, according to legislative leaders and advocates on both sides of the gun debate.

Those measures and two others awaiting introduction — holding gun makers and dealers liable for gun violence, and banning devices that convert handguns to fully automatic weapons – have the support of leaders in the Democrat-controlled House and Senate and Gov. John Carney, a fellow Democrat.

Those measures and two others awaiting introduction — holding gun makers and dealers liable for gun violence, and banning devices that convert handguns to fully automatic weapons – have the support of leaders in the Democrat-controlled House and Senate and Gov. John Carney, a fellow Democrat.

Again, nothing on mental health or ensuring that violent criminals face prosecution and stiff sentences for their crimes. This package is all about criminalizing legal gun owners and shutting down the firearms industry, and as the Second Amendment Foundation’s Lee Williams reports, these new gun control restrictions could lead to at least one company pulling its manufacturing operations from the state.

Magpul, one of the most popular manufacturers of AR-15 magazines and accessories, has a production facility in Georgetown, Delaware. It employs more than 90 workers. A Republican state senator added an amendment to the magazine ban bill that would have allowed Magpul to continue manufacturing standard-capacity magazines at their Delaware facility, even though the magazines would be prohibited in the state. Democrats rejected the amendment. Another Senator, a Democrat, said he did not want Magpul shipping their magazines to states where people can purchase magazines that are prohibited in Delaware.

… The DSSA has learned that Magpul will likely move its production facility if the bill is signed into law, which will reduce the number of standard-capacity magazines available nationwide, and impact millions of gun owners.

Williams also reports that Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Delaware Gov. John Carney this week, and there’s a lot of speculation that he’s heading home to deliver some hearty back-slapping and kudos to Democrats for enacting the anti-gun bills.

While 2A groups in the state are mounting a broad grassroots campaign in opposition to the bills, with Democrats in control of both chambers the fix may already be in place. If these bad bills become awful laws expect a swift court challenge and a run on any and all firearms subject to the new ban, but that will likely be cold comfort to the tens of thousands of law-abiding gun owners who are being scapegoated for the actions of criminals and the Democrats’ continued failure to get tough on crime.