Permit-to-purchase laws are particularly egregious infringements on our Second Amendment rights, and I really figured after Bruen, their days would be numbered. Unfortunately, Delaware passed one and, as of Friday, a judge decided to allow the law to take effect, as Cam noted then.
But it's not going into effect without a fight.
Gun rights groups have already decided they'll appeal the decision, which is shocking to absolutely no one.
Hours after the ruling, the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association announced in a Facebook post that it has filed a notice of appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The group argues the law violates the Second Amendment and says the state lacks the infrastructure needed to implement the permit system.
Attorney General Kathy Jennings praised the court’s decision, calling it a victory for gun safety and communities affected by gun violence.
Friday’s ruling applies only to the injunction request. The larger constitutional challenge to the law remains pending in federal court.
It's not a victory for gun safety; it's a camel's nose under the tent.
Let's understand that while Delaware is far from the first to have a scheme like this, the fact that this is allowed to go into effect is troubling, and it's indicative of why so many of us argue that the Second Amendment is treated like a second-class right.
While one must have a permit in order to stage a large protest, that's because of the logistics of the thing, not as a way to curtail the right to protest. An individual can protest to their heart's content in any space open to the public, so long as they don't impede others. Groups can, too. It's when a protest is likely to be so large that it will create impediments to people trying to go about their day that a permit is required.
Permits for gun purchases are completely different. Folks in Delaware will literally have to ask the government's permission in order to get a firearm. It might be a "shall issue" thing for most people, but that's beside the point. It's still a requirement that one must go through before ever setting foot inside a gun store. They already have universal background checks, which, hypothetically, means that all firearm sales are already going through a NICS check.
So why a permit-to-purchase?
The answer is to make it that much harder to buy a gun. They want to create as much separation between the time someone decides to buy a firearm to them being able to do so, hopefully putting in enough hurdles that they'll say, "Screw it," and just stop the whole process. It's nothing but kabuki theater from the aspect of actually improving public safety, but it's a real thing designed to inhibit lawful gun ownership.
That's literally the only "benefit" to such laws.
And then, in time, it'll be used to justify still more infringements on people's civil liberties. Once the guns are out of reach, there's nothing anyone can really do to push back effectively on "hate speech" laws or regulations on so-called misinformation. Look at what's happening in Europe right now. Doors are being kicked down because of mean comments on social media. That isn't happening here in part because we can defend ourselves from such tyranny.
And permit-to-purchase laws are a step that will, in time, lead us right to where European nations are.
It sounds extreme, but they didn't start restricting speech. They took the guns first, and that started with making it harder and harder to get one lawfully.
Meanwhile, though, Delaware criminals aren't getting permits for jack squat. They never have and never will, which is why the claims of how this will make Delaware safer are absolute nonsense.
