Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News Gun Laws

Round Two: Gun Rights Groups Prevail (Again) in Second Challenge to Firearm Restrictions in Delaware’s State Parks, Forests

Friday, October 12, 2018

Round Two: Gun Rights Groups Prevail (Again) in Second Challenge to Firearm Restrictions in Delaware’s State Parks, Forests

Gun rights groups, including the NRA’s Delaware affiliate, the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, scored an encore legal victory this week when the Superior Court of the State of Delaware invalidated parts of newly promulgated regulations imposed by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) on firearms in state parks and forests.

The October 11, 2018 decision by the court follows an earlier decision in late 2017, Bridgeville Rifle & Pistol Club, Ltd. v. Small, deciding a legal challenge brought by the Bridgeville Rifle & Pistol Club, Ltd., the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, and others. There, the Supreme Court of Delaware invalidated the two agencies’ firearm rules, finding these effectively banned the carrying of firearms for self-defense in state parks and forests. The regulations were an “evisceration of the right to self-defense and defense of family in the entirety of Delaware State Parks and Forests [that was] inconsistent with” Delaware’s constitutional right to bear arms. Compared with existing legislative restrictions, the court determined the regulations were “grossly out of step” with the kinds of place-based restrictions adopted by the General Assembly. Further, while the agencies had asserted general public safety concerns as the reason for the bans, they provided no evidence in the record in support, and failed to specify which areas were truly “sensitive places” for the purposes of a firearm ban.

As a result, the two agencies went back to the drawing board and prepared new regulations “to comply with the decision of the Delaware Supreme Court in Bridgeville R&P Club v. DNREC (Dec. 7, 2017) that invalidated portions of the existing regulations governing firearms.”  In the meantime, emergency regulations took effect in late 2017 to fill the regulatory void caused by the court’s ruling. Final regulations were adopted and enforceable as of May 2018.

The new rules included a firearm ban in sensitive places (“designated areas”), but exempting law enforcement officers and Delaware residents with a valid carry permit. Such persons would have to produce their permit on request; residents of other states holding an “equivalent permit or license to carry a concealed firearm may be permitted to carry a concealed firearm at the discretion of the Department.” “Designated areas” under DDA regulations included “State Forest Offices, education centers, and lodges;” under the DNREC regulation, these areas were park offices, visitor and nature centers, bathhouses, restaurants and snack bars, zoos, educational facilities, dormitories, playgrounds, swimming pools, camping areas, guarded beaches, and water parks. The regulations also gave law enforcement officers an unfettered authority to conduct identification and permit checks on those present in state parks and forests. 

The court reviewing the new regulations granted in part the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and invalidated portions of the regulations. Although the agencies had the authority to regulate the use of state lands, this authority was subject to existing restrictions in the state constitution and state laws. Because the restrictions fell short of a total ban, the court applied “intermediate scrutiny” review, which required the agencies to show their regulations served important government objectives, where the means chosen were substantially related to furthering those objectives without burdening the fundamental right of self-defense more than reasonably necessary.       

Turning to the specific restrictions, the court determined that the designation of camping areas, camp sites and lodges as “designated areas” failed to satisfy intermediate scrutiny. Even though “designated areas” arguably made up less than one percent of the total area of state parks and forests, these were the areas where “many visitors spend much of their time.” Such places lacked a meaningful controlled entry point; visitors were not screened by security in any way; and the areas were not monitored by law enforcement, which meant campers and other visitors were present at their own risk, without reliable access to emergency assistance. In addition, the public safety justification the agencies advanced for this “substantial” burden on gun rights was “unsupported” by any evidence in the record.

The next regulations, giving blanket authority to law enforcement to conduct automatic “background checks” based on permits and ID documents on request and in the absence of probable cause or a reasonable suspicion of criminal wrongdoing, were an unconstitutional violation of the Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures. These “show me your papers” regulations “give unfettered discretion to stop …visitors, question them, and require identification without requiring a scintilla of evidence of criminal activity.”      

Regulations that purported to give DNREC and the DDA the discretion to issue temporary concealed carry permits to non-residents with an out-of-state carry permit or license were preempted by state law – a statute granted the Attorney General the sole authority to issue temporary concealed carry permits. (The court noted that under the regulations, recipients of the DNREC/DDA-issued temporary permits were nonetheless still subject to prosecution for carrying a concealed deadly weapon in state park or forest.)    

Delaware, the court concluded, “is an ‘open carry’ state. This right to bear arms includes the right to do so for purposes of hunting, recreation and protection of self and family both inside and outside the home.”  

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke proclaimed the month of October 2018 as National Hunting and Fishing Month. In solidarity with the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association and the Bridgeville Rifle and Pistol Club, speak up for your Second Amendment right to carry your firearm on public lands, and promote the ability to hunt on public lands in your state.

A copy of the Delaware decision is available at https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=279720

 

 

 

IN THIS ARTICLE
Delaware public lands Legal
TRENDING NOW
Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

In a temporary reprieve for Colorado gun owners, the semi-auto ban HB24-1292 has been removed from the calendar. But we cannot let our guard down as gun control advocates can bring it up for a vote at ...

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

Much of the attention this past week in the United States Supreme Court was the oral arguments in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, No. 22-842, a First Amendment case on whether government officials ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 24-1292, the semi-auto ban, that lasted over 12 hours where hundreds of patriotic Coloradans overloaded the committee with opposition testimony. The hearing concluded with an ...

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

On March 19, the city of Chicago filed suit against handgun manufacturer Glock. Seeking to shift responsibility for the city’s woeful governance, Chicago’s lawsuit blames the popular firearm manufacturer for the third-party criminal misuse of ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

News  

Second Amendment  

Monday, March 25, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

In response to the NRA’s victory in Bruen, which secured every American’s right to carry arms, NY passed the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act,” severely restricting carry throughout the state. The 2nd Circuit upheld many of ...

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Today, Governor Inslee signed five anti-gun bills into law that were recently passed by the Washington State Legislature. The bills include:

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

News  

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

Last week we reported on a major breakthrough on behalf of veterans who risked losing their Second Amendment rights because of a long-running scheme by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report certain beneficiaries ...

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

On Wednesday, the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee voted 7-4 to pass Senate Bill 67 to the Senate floor for a vote. 

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Today, the House is scheduled to vote on HB24-1292, the ban on semi-automatic firearms. Please contact your legislators today by using the button below and urge them to OPPOSE HB24-1292!

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

Monday, March 25, 2024

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

A number of firearm-related bills, including enhanced preemption, are moving in the Louisiana Legislature. It's critical that NRA members and Second Amendment supporters get involved to keep the momentum going!

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.