Delaware

Delaware House approves ‘divisive’ handgun licensing laws – Washington Examiner

Published

2 years ago

March 12, 2024

Delaware House approves ‘divisive’ handgun licensing laws – Washington Examiner

(The Center Square) — The Delaware House of Representatives has approved a “divisive” bill that would require a state license and training to own a handgun despite the threat of a legal challenge.

The proposal, which passed 23-16 on a largely party-line vote, would require Delaware residents to obtain a permit to purchase a handgun after completing an approved firearm training course. The Democratic-controlled Senate approved a similar bill last year.

Backers of the plan argue that it would reduce gun violence, suicides and homicides and crack down on illegal “straw purchases” of handguns on behalf of those prohibited by law from possessing them.

“This legislation has been the product of years of discussions, meetings and collaboration with colleagues in this building, constituents, advocates and stakeholders,” House Majority Leader Melissa Minor-Brown, D-New Castle. “That is the fifth-highest rate of gun violence in the nation.”

Republican lawmakers who opposed the “divisive” proposal argued the regulations violate the Second Amendment rights and would do little to curb gun violence in the state.

Under the proposal, anyone who wants to purchase a handgun must complete a firearms training course and submit to a background check — including fingerprinting — by the state Bureau of Identification. If approved, a handgun permit would be valid for two years and could be revoked if the state agency determines the person is a risk to themselves or others.

Those with valid concealed carry permits and qualified law enforcement officers would not be required to obtain or present a handgun purchase permit.

The bill comes with a price tag for the state’s taxpayers. A legislative analysis of the proposal estimated that the permitting system would cost the state $3 million in the first year to implement the system, and another $7.8 million annually. That includes the cost of a proposed voucher program to defray training and permitting costs for low-income residents.

A GOP amendment to the bill would exempt people with firearms training, members of the military, certified firearms instructors, and licensed gun dealers from the training requirements, but the chamber’s Democratic majority narrowed the scope of that exemption with another amendment.

Gov. John Carney, a Democrat, supports the move and has called for more than $2.9 billion for the firearm licensing program in his upcoming budget, set to be released soon.

“Over the past seven years, we’ve banned assault weapons, bump stocks and high-capacity magazines,” Carney said during his State of the State speech last Tuesday. “We’ve passed red flag laws and prevented straw purchases. This year, we’ll take another big step forward and pass the permit to purchase law.”

But the push to tighten firearm laws comes as the U.S. Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in a Maryland lawsuit challenging the state’s decade-old permit-to-purchase law, which was declared unconstitutional by a three-judge panel in a November decision.

Republican lawmakers argued during the debate on the House version of the bill that it was likely to be deemed unconstitutional. Only a handful of other states have similar handgun permit laws, some of which are facing legal challenges, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Delaware Sportsman’s Association, which represents gun owners, has called the handgun permit proposal “pure politics” and vowed to file a legal challenge if the plan is approved.

But Delaware’s Attorney General Kathy Jennnings said she is “convinced” that Delaware’s gun permitting proposal would survive any constitutional legal challenge.

“I am convinced this bill is constitutional and that the appropriate courts will rule that it is constitutional,” Jennings, a Democrat, said in remarks on Thursday. “What’s being done here is reasonable regulations and requirements to enable people to carry guns safely.”

Because the House amended the bill, it must now go back to the Senate for a vote before heading to Carney’s desk for consideration.

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Delaware

Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Published

4 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Thomas Jefferson University is opening a regional campus of its Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Delaware, an effort that will result in the state’s first medical school.

Jefferson beat out three other bidders to establish the four-year program in partnership with the state. The other bidders were the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico, Spotlight Delaware reported.

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The inaugural class of 40 medical students will begin instruction in July 2028. Initially, the campus will be based at the University of Delaware in Newark, with Jefferson faculty providing instruction. A permanent home for the campus is still being finalized, the Inquirer reported.

The medical students will receive 18 months of preclinical training on campus before receiving clinical training from healthcare providers in Delaware’s southern counties, where the state’s physician shortage is most deeply felt. That shortage is compounded by an aging population, Delaware officials said.

“Jefferson is committed to being part of the solution to Delaware’s physician shortage,” Jefferson CEO Dr. Joseph Cacchione said in a statement. “We are proud to help build a future where every Delawarean has access to the care they deserve. Jefferson is all in.”

The school’s creation is being supported by $157.4 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Delaware is one of three states without a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program. Since the late 1960s, Jefferson and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine have reserved seats for Delaware students.

“Sidney Kimmel Medical College has trained generations of physicians for more than 200 years, more than any other medical college in the country,” Said Ibrahim, dean of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, said in a statement. “It is a privilege to bring our mission to Delaware’s patients and communities.”

Jefferson has announced several expansions recently. The university is establishing a full-time doctor of nursing practice-nurse anesthesia program and several online graduate programs at the Lehigh Valley Health Network Center for Healthcare Education in Lehigh County. It also is opening a satellite respiratory therapy lab at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown.

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Delaware

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Published

14 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Delaware officials said medical students will start their classroom instruction at UD and then do their clinical training at offices and health care systems in Kent and Sussex counties, where the shortage of doctors is most acute.

However, ChristianaCare, which has its own partnership with Jefferson, is not participating. The state’s largest health care system was part of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s unsuccessful bid to operate the school. In a joint statement from ChristianaCare and PCOM, the two organizations expressed disappointment with not being part of the consortium of higher education institutions and healthcare organizations.

“The path forward raises genuine questions about whether the school’s goals can be fully realized without ChristianaCare’s meaningful participation in its clinical training mission,” it said. “The success of any four-year medical program depends not just on an academic institution, but on a true and committed partnership with its clinical partners — one built on shared mission, mutual investment and trust developed over time.”

Students in the first class can get their tuition subsidized, covering all of their education costs, in exchange for an agreement to work in rural Delaware for five years.

Running the medical school is expected to cost Jefferson $78 million over the next five years. The money is from a federal rural health grant through the Rural Health Transformation Program, which congressional Republicans created in the so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”

The program will give $50 billion to every state over five years, though exactly the total each will eventually receive is unclear. Half of the money is to be distributed equally to states and the other half is awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based on a variety of factors.

The state applied for $1 billion late last year to improve health care in Kent and Sussex counties. The Trump administration has so far allocated Delaware $157 million. Delaware is expected to receive at least $500 million over the life of the fund.

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