CHAPTER 384
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11, SUBCHAPTER XVI, DELAWARE CODE, RELATING TO DEADLY WEAPONS AND FIREARMS BY ADDING A NEW SECTION MAKING IT A CRIME FOR CERTAIN PERSONS TO PURCHASE OR POSSESS FIREARMS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. Title 11, Subchapter XVI, Delaware Code, is hereby amended by adding a new section designated "§ 470" as follows:
§ 470. Purchase and possession of firearms by certain persons prohibited
Any person, having been convicted in this State or elsewhere of a felony or a crime of violence involving bodily injury to another, whether or not armed with, or having in his possession any firearm during the commission of such felony, or crime of violence, or any person who has ever been committed for a mental disorder to any hospital, mental institution or sanatorium (unless he possesses a certificate of a medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed in Delaware that he is no longer suffering from a mental disorder which interferes with or handicaps him in the handling of a firearm), or any person who has been convicted for the unlawful use, possession, or sale of a narcotic or non-narcotic drug, who purchases, owns, possesses, or controls any firearm or weapon capable of firing a missile or projectile with sufficient force to cause death or serious bodily injury shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $2,000, or imprisoned not less than 90 days nor more than 5 years, or both.
Section 2. Any person who has ever been committed for a mental disorder to any hospital, mental institution or sanatorium shall be granted 60 days from the enactment of this Act to procure and possess a certificate from the State Board of Trustees of the Mental Health Department stating that he is no longer suffering from a mental disorder which interferes with or handicaps him in the handling of a firearm.
Section 3. Any person having been convicted in this State or elsewhere of a felony or a crime of violence involving bodily injury to another, or having been convicted for the unlawful use, possession, or sale of a narcotic or non-narcotic drug, may apply to the State Board of Pardons for permission to purchase, own, or possess a firearm. The decision of the Board shall be final. The Board may adopt such rules, regulations and procedures as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
Approved July 5, 1968.