Delaware
Judge lets Delaware’s law requiring a permit to buy handgun begin Sunday
Lawyers for state and gun rights advocates spar during hearing
Beyond the gun advocates’ objections that the law violates the “right to bear arms” guaranteed in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, they argued during Thursday’s 75-minute hearing that Delaware officials botched the rollout of the permitting process.
State police, who oversee the State Bureau of Identification, did not have an application available until Oct. 28, 19 days before prospective buyers would be required to present a laminated permit similar to a driver’s license to make a purchase.
Since state officials have 30 days to decide on a permit, the gun rights lobby argued in court filings and before Noreika that the delays in opening the application portal could create an unconstitutional de facto ban on purchasing a handgun starting Sunday.
They also asserted that SBI’s requirements should have gone through the state’s copious process to create regulations, which often takes several months and gives residents time to offer comments on proposed rules.
“The government, the state, is treating this natural right [to buy handguns] like it were a government gift, like food stamps,’’ Pileggi said during the hearing. “Due to their lack of planning, they waited until the last minute” to open an application process filled with obstacles for would-be handgun buyers.
“Now they say because a few permits have been issued, [his clients] should be happy and go home,” he added.
Lawyers for the state countered that more than 200 permits have already been issued, though they acknowledged that all but three were approved for law enforcement officers and others exempted from taking the training course or firing live rounds at a shooting range. The state also argued that while regulations can be put in place to implement a law, they are not required.
Noreika, however, said during the hearing that it appeared to her that state police added requirements that were not in the law and normally would require official regulations.
She noted a couple provisions cited by Pileggi that are on the state’s website as “firearms training course guidelines.” Those rules say SBI must approve training courses and instructors. The law does not require such approvals.
Noreika also personalized her inquiry. She speculated that if she had taken a FBI firearms course three years ago, she might think it wasn’t valid since the FBI is not on the state website’s list of approved instructors.
While state attorney Austin Evers said SBI would merely check that the FBI course meets the requirements outlined in the law, Noreika countered that she would have no way of knowing that if she wanted to get a permit, and might think she needed to take a new course, which could take weeks to schedule and complete.
Evers said the state would remove those provisions to clear up any confusion among permit seekers and to remain within the bounds of the law so no official regulations would need to be proposed, reviewed and approved — a process that takes several months.
The state’s lawyer also told the judge that the law and how it’s being implemented is the opposite of a ban and will result in fewer handgun deaths.
“This statute has two core principles: a scheme to allow people to buy and and sell handguns — not a total ban — to address real threats to public safety,’’ Evers said.
Jennings, who attended Thursday’s hearing, said afterward that regardless of what Noreika decided on the injunction issue, she believes the law that was passed in 2024 after a five-year legislative effort will ultimately be upheld.
Jennings said afterward that she didn’t think Noreika would issue an injunction because the judge would first need to determine that the lawsuit had a “likelihood of success on the merits.’’
She said similar permit bills have been upheld in other states — such as in neighboring Maryland — and that in Delaware, “we firmly believe that this law is constitutional and passes muster.”
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.
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.
Delaware Ohio Housing Growth
A look at the rapid expansion of housing developments in Delaware, Ohio.
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Every few weeks Delaware city approves a new housing development. The city has more than 4,000 housing units in its development pipeline, contributing to the rapid growth in one of the fastest-growing counties in Ohio.
A crash shut down U.S. 42 in Delaware County in both directions June 2.
As of 7 a.m., U.S. 42 was closed from U.S. 23 to Jegs Place near the Delaware Municipal Airport.
It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured in the crash or when the roadway would open.
This is a developing story and will be updated
Public Safety and Breaking News Reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
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