Once upon a time, Delaware was a bit of an oddity in the Mid-Atlantic region. They were a fairly pro-gun state in the heart of anti-gun country.

Unfortunately, those days are over. Now, anti-gun Democrats are running roughshod over the state and local pro-gun activists can’t really seem to do too much to stop them.

And a couple of bills have been proposed that Democrats want to fast-track that pro-2A forces need to figure out a way to stop.

Democratic lawmakers in Delaware are aiming to fast-track two gun-control bills outlawing high-capacity magazines and banning the purchase of handguns unless the buyer first takes a firearms training course, gets fingerprinted and obtains a state permit.

The bills were introduced late last week, and members of the public will have their first chance to comment on them at a Senate committee hearing Wednesday.

Late Tuesday, Democratic Senate leaders issued a statement saying the bills will be voted on by the full Senate on Thursday if they are released from committee.

…

The permit bill requires a person wanting to buy a handgun to complete an approved training course within five years of applying for the state permit. After completing a training course, a person would have to submit a permit application to the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The department would have 30 days to fingerprint applicants, confirm that they are legally permitted to own a handgun, and issue a “qualified purchaser card.” The card would be valid for 180 days.

Individuals who have been permitted to carry a concealed deadly weapon would be exempt from the training requirement because they already are required to complete a firearm training course.

…

The other bill would ban the sale of magazines capable of holding more than 17 rounds and would give existing owners of such magazines until June 30, 2022, to surrender them to the state.

The permit-to-purchase bill also requires dealers to keep demographic data on purchasers as well as the identifying numbers on the permits used.

Yeah, that’s going to go ever like a wet fart in church.

Of course, proponents of these bills are convinced they’re needed to save lives, or at least that’s what they tell the press. However, what doesn’t come up is how if these permit requirements are so good, then how is it that Chicago has so much violent crime?

After all, Illinois has required a FOID for years now, and yet time and time again, we see just how requiring a permit to purchase a firearm does nothing to dissuade criminals.

Honestly, though, that shouldn’t be surprising. We all know that criminals buy guns on the black market, and because of that, guess who doesn’t need a permit to buy a gun? That’s right, the criminals. As per usual, it only impacts the law-abiding, making it more difficult for people being threatened to defend their own lives.

I seriously wonder how many people would lose their minds at a bill placing similar requirements on the media or on the clergy. The Second Amendment is part of the same Bill of Rights as the right to freedom of the press and freedom of religion, after all.

Not that Delaware Democrats seem to care about that.

And that doesn’t touch on the ineffectiveness of magazine restrictions or the bizarrely arbitrary capacity of 17 rounds, either. Again, not something Democrats in the state are worried about.