Interesting note I found. Delaware’s CCW is titled CCDW – Carrying a Conceal Deadly Weapon. Not insignificant to me. The word “deadly” in Delaware’s CCDW law strikes me as unusual, different from most states’ simple “CCW,” and could raise questions about how it aligns with the Second Amendment’s protection of arms capable of defending life or liberty. Link to Delaware’s application in content.
Starting on Sunday, most Delaware residents who don’t possess a valid concealed carry license will be forced to get one or apply for a permit-to-purchase if they want to buy a handgun. Late Friday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika declined to grant an injunction that would halt enforcement of the law, writing that the plaintiffs “failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits.” Given that, the judge opined that she “need not evaluate the other factors of the analysis: irreparable harm, balancing of the equites, and public interest.”
The state of Delaware had argued that the permit-to-purchase scheme is a “shall issue” system akin to a license to carry, which the Supreme Court okayed in Bruen. The plaintiffs, meanwhile had argued the “burdensome and time-consuming permitting scheme” lacks any analogue in our nation’s history and tradition of gun ownership.
I haven’t had a chance to review Noreika’s decision, so I can’t report on what made her decide the plaintiffs aren’t likely going to succeed in their legal challenge, but I suspect that the State’s argument about SCOTUS essentially blessing permits-to-purchase in Bruen may have proved persuasive.
By Cam Edwards
