Hague: Group opposes infringing on gun owners’ rights

Mr. George “Jody” Sweeney: Not sure what you mean by “put up blocks for every possible plan, suggestion, idea or law” (“Gun rights advocates should offer ideas to curb shootings"). If you are referring to my organization’s opposition to such proposals as permit-to-purchase, I would submit that the opposition is not to trying to reduce violent crime; it is to the infringing on constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens to do so. You also state that I never propose ideas. Here is a partial list of what the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association has done over the past several years, often in the face of opposition from the liberal left:

• Firearms Technical Assistance Project, 2022 — DSSA wrote the new Delaware background check law that was unanimously passed by both the House of Representatives and Senate. Due to a shortage of police, the program is 18 months behind schedule. I wonder why no one wants to be a police officer anymore. Could it be the liberal policies advocated by Mr. Sweeney and others, like to defund the police and for no cash bail?
• Red-flag law, 2018 — The association was the primary drafter of the law, which passed unanimously in the House and Senate.
• Increased penalties on straw purchases, 2017.
• Firearm safe-storage requirements, 2019.
• Protection from abuse orders, including firearm prohibition and confiscation, House Bill 183.

DSSA has been at the forefront in proposing and helping pass many pieces of legislation that are aimed squarely at the problem — the individual, not the object. We have also advocated for implementing the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on reducing violent crime, issued in 2016 for the city of Wilmington, which did not include any gun control measures. However, neither Wilmington nor Dover has taken any action on that report.

Jeff Hague

President and legislative liaison

Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association

Ellendale

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