Bill Commons

DE HB 4

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WEAPONS.

Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · lower

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Quick answers

Did DE HB 4 pass?

Yes. DE HB 4 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2025-08-20): Signed by Governor

What is DE HB 4 about?

This Act amends Chapters 1, 5, 7, and 17 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code to be consistent with the recent legislative change of the definition of a firearm in Title 11. This Act is needed to address public safety and enforcement concerns. Archery equipment and air guns are no longer classified as firearms and the proposed amendments would continue to make certain actions and activities with these “projectile weapons” prohibited, such as having these weapons loaded or discharged from a vehicle, road, or within a designated safety zone. The Act recognizes that there are certain actions and activities with “projectile weapons,” that should continue to be prohibited even though they are no longer classified as “firearms.” This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to expand the scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court. Section 1309 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code provides that the Justice of the Peace Court has jurisdiction of the offenses being amended by this Act.

Who sponsors DE HB 4?

Brian Pettyjohn, William J. Carson, Jeffrey N. Spiegelman are the primary sponsors of DE HB 4.

Description

This Act amends Chapters 1, 5, 7, and 17 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code to be consistent with the recent legislative change of the definition of a firearm in Title 11. This Act is needed to address public safety and enforcement concerns. Archery equipment and air guns are no longer classified as firearms and the proposed amendments would continue to make certain actions and activities with these “projectile weapons” prohibited, such as having these weapons loaded or discharged from a vehicle, road, or within a designated safety zone. The Act recognizes that there are certain actions and activities with “projectile weapons,” that should continue to be prohibited even though they are no longer classified as “firearms.” This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to expand the scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court. Section 1309 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code provides that the Justice of the Peace Court has jurisdiction of the offenses being amended by this Act.

Introduced
2025-01-09
Latest action
2025-08-20 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Brian Pettyjohnprimary
  • William J. Carsonprimary
  • Jeffrey N. Spiegelmanprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2025-08-20

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2025-07-01

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

    passage

  3. 2025-05-14

    Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  4. 2025-03-18

    Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2025-03-18

    Passed By House. Votes: 36 YES 5 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2025-03-12

    Reported Out of Committee (Natural Resources & Energy) in House with 1 Favorable, 11 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  7. 2025-01-09

    Introduced and Assigned to Natural Resources & Energy Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Not provided by source.

Documents

Not provided by source.

Votes

  • 2/3

    2025-03-18 · pass · 36-0

    Member-level votes (41)
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
    • Frank Burns: yes
    • William Bush: yes
    • William J. Carson: yes
    • Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: yes
    • Richard G. Collins: yes
    • Franklin D. Cooke: yes
    • Daniel B. Short: yes
    • Timothy D. Dukes: yes
    • Mara Gorman: yes
    • Ronald E. Gray: yes
    • Krista Griffith: yes
    • Kerri Evelyn Harris: yes
    • Debra Heffernan: yes
    • Kevin S Hensley: yes
    • Jeff Hilovsky: yes
    • Valerie Jones Giltner: yes
    • Kendra Johnson: yes
    • Kimberly Williams: yes
    • Kamela T Smith: yes
    • Larry Lambert: yes
    • Sean M. Lynn: yes
    • Michael F. Smith: other
    • Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
    • Shannon Morris: other
    • Eric Morrison: yes
    • DeShanna U Neal: yes
    • Josue O Ortega: yes
    • Edward S. Osienski: yes
    • Stell Parker Selby: other
    • Sophie Phillips: yes
    • Charles S Postles Jr.: yes
    • Cyndie Romer: yes
    • Melanie Ross Levin: yes
    • Sherae'a Moore: other
    • Bryan W. Shupe: yes
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: other
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes

  • 2/3

    2025-07-01 · pass · 21-0

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Darius J. Brown: yes
    • Eric Buckson: yes
    • Daniel Cruce: yes
    • Stephanie L. Hansen: yes
    • Gerald W. Hocker: yes
    • Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
    • Russell Huxtable: yes
    • Dave G. Lawson: yes
    • S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
    • Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
    • Trey Paradee: yes
    • Brian Pettyjohn: yes
    • Marie Pinkney: yes
    • Nicole Poore: yes
    • Bryant L. Richardson: yes
    • Ray Seigfried: yes
    • David P. Sokola: yes
    • Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
    • Bryan Townsend: yes
    • John "Jack" Walsh: yes
    • David L. Wilson: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=141761

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T03:53:51.443619Z

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