New Del. Law Prohibits Drinking With a Gun

[jpak]

http://www.wboc.com/story/15076075/gun-laws

DOVER, Del.- It is now against the law to carry a gun in Delaware if you are drunk or under the influence of drugs. Gov. Jack Markell signed the legislation into law on Wednesday.

The new law prohibits people from carrying a gun if they have a blood alcohol level greater than .08. You could still carry a gun if you are not carrying ammunition. In Delaware, you must have a permit to carry a weapon.

You could be charged with a misdemeanor if you are caught carrying a gun while drinking. And you will have to wait five years before reapplying for a permit to carry a concealed deadly weapon.

Originally the bill would have prevented folks from carrying guns on their own property. But after an outcry from gun owners, the bill was re-written.

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:thumbsup:

[boston bean]

1. good, guns and booze don't mix.

Pretty sure, this is my first time ever posting in this forum.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Then why are alcohol, tobacco, and firearms all

Under the same bureau?

:evilgrin:

[hack89]

5. Sounds like the perfect convenience store to me! nt

[TheWraith]

20. Don't forget the explosives!

Actually, I'm surprised to find out Delaware doesn't already have laws like this. As far as I as aware, the only state I knew which didn't have a prohibition against being drunk while carrying a gun (usually the same definition of drunk as for driving) was Oregon.

[aikoaiko]

3. Apparently the law does allow drinking with a gun, but not at the BAC level =>.08

Strange, I wouldn't have thought you would support a law that allows drinking and possessing a gun.


:rofl:

[postulater]

4. Drinking with a gun?

I wouldn't think most gun barrels hold more than a half a shot or so.

Unless it's a shotgun.

[SteveM]

17. Yeah, my 311D is an old whore when it comes to drinking.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

6. I support this commonsense legislation.

Carrying a gun requires responsibility and good judement.
Both of those are suspect if an idividual is consuming excessive alcohol.

[jeepnstein]

7. No problem.

Concealed carry can and should be regulated in some ways. Prohibiting a drunk or drugged individual from carrying concealed isn't that big of a deal.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find that states that require no license to carry have some prohibition about carrying under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

[gejohnston]

13. even if they don't

public intoxication would still apply, although I agree it should be a bigger deal.

[jeepnstein]

16. Yeah.

Disorderly conduct, drunk; that's a charge that is really useful some times. Drunks with guns are special and they deserve special treatment. I almost had to kill a guy in front of his ten year old son because he had a shotgun in one hand and a beer in the other. Dude was so drunk he wound up crying in the cruiser wishing I had killed him.

[GreenStormCloud]

8. Sounds like a good law. N/T

[ileus]

9. Don't all states have a law of this nature? Someones behind the times.

[eqfan592]

10. My thoughts exactly. nt

[aikoaiko]

15. Some allow no drinking at all. The Del law is really quite liberal in that it allows drinking...

...just not at the BAC level of .08.

[petronius]

19. I'd be perfectly content with a 'no drinking at all' law; although I don't agree with

excluding people carrying from places that serve alcohol. This is a pretty mild restriction.

It's a bit surprising they had nothing - I half-suspected that this was a loosening of a tighter restriction, not the first regulation on the topic...

[eqfan592]

11. Wow jpak, you actually managed to post something worth a rec!

Never thought I'd see the day. ;)

[The Green Manalishi]

12. You won't find many of us against such a law

While I do think that Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be three aisles at a big box store, I don't want people who are drunk to be carrying or using firearms.

[gejohnston]

14. I would prefer them to be three separate mom and pop stores

support locally owned small business etc. True, guns and cars are alike in that way.

[The Green Manalishi]

18. Agree

What I carry on my person or in my car, the contents of my bloodstream and my choice of life partner are all, equally, none of the business of anyone at all unless and until my actual actions impinge on someone else's life liberty or property. The only exceptions being the fact that society has a right to regulate the sobriety of someone operating a vehicle or carrying a weapon.

Most gun stores I know of are very small places. Economics forces me to go to the big boxes for any ammo I don't reload.

[TheWraith]

21. There's one great thing about where I live...

The two places where I basically HAVE to shop locally instead of online, the gun store and the liquor store, are both owned and operated by Democrats.

[The Green Manalishi]

22. Plenty of Obama/Biden stickers at my local range, too.

[Endangered Specie]

23. I wish this law was passed in NC ALONG with allowing CCW in alcohol-serving

restaurants.

More or less what was done in Tennessee.

[benEzra]

25. That prohibition is already NC law (stricter, actually),

NC prohibits any drinking whatsoever while carrying, even simply tasting wine or something, regardless of how low one's BAC is.

http://www.ncsheriffs.org/images/2007%20NC%20Firearms%20Laws%20Pub.pdf

It is unlawful for the permittee to carry a concealed handgun while consuming alcohol,
or at any time while the permittee has remaining in his or her body, any alcohol, or a
controlled substance previously consumed. However, a permittee does not violate this law if a controlled substance in his or her blood was lawfully obtained and taken in therapeutically appropriate amounts. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.11(c)

The currently-proposed law to allow licensed CCW in restaurants with wine lists would not change the no-drinking law, FWIW.

[benEzra]

24. Most states already have such laws (including my own, NC).

Including most states that allow carry in restaurants that serve alcohol.