Delaware’s Handgun Licensing Law Spurs Constitutional Challenge

Delaware’s “permit to purchase” regulations deprive individuals of their fundamental constitutional rights to keep and bear commonly used firearms, a collection of residents and gun rights groups assert.

The licensing scheme has no historical support and unconstitutionally provides power to approve or reject applicants to an unelected state official based on “discretionary and vague criteria,” the plaintiffs alleged Monday. Their complaint asks the US District Court for the District of Delaware for an injunction barring enforcement of the law before it goes into effect Nov. 16.

The suit is one of several challenging firearm regulations across the country prompted by ...