Skip to Main Content

ARS Applauds Delaware Legislators for Advancing Bill to Give Law Enforcement More Tools to Combat Gun Crimes and Prosecute Criminals

May 18, 2016 Americans for Responsible Solutions , the national gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, today applauded leaders in the Delaware State Senate for advancing a bipartisan proposal to strengthen the state’s reporting requirements for guns and ammunition, give law enforcement more tools to track crime guns and ballistics, and make it easier to enforce current law and bring perpetrators to justice.

The legislation, HB 217, strengthen Delaware’s tracing laws and make it easier to prosecute criminal justice by:

  • Requiring law enforcement agencies that recover crime guns to enter all related information into the National Crime Information Center System and the the ATF’s e-Trace system;
  • Requiring law enforcement agencies that recover crime guns to quickly test-fire each weapon and submit their results to the NIBIN to determine whether the firearm is associated or related to a crime; and,
  • Requiring law enforcement agencies that recover shell casings at a crime scene to submit all related ballistics information to the NIBIN.

The vote comes on the heels of  Congresswoman Giffords and Captain Kelly’s visit to Wilmington in March and launch of the new bipartisan Delaware Coalition for Common Sense. 

“We applaud leaders in the Delaware Senate for doing the responsible thing and voting to give law enforcement more tools to combat gun crimes and prosecute criminals,” said Amber Goodwin, National Advocacy Director, Americans for Responsible Solutions. “We urge Governor Markell to sign this bipartisan bill into law and help make Delaware a safer place to live.”

ABOUT FIREARMS & BALLISTICS TRACING

Tracing Helps Law Enforcement Bring Perpetrators To Justice. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ National Tracing Center (NTC) and the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) are two of the most effective resources for domestic and international law enforcement agencies to gain investigative leads in firearm related crimes. The ATF’s e-Trace system helps law enforcement track crime guns back to the original customer and dealer. The NIBIN system provides law enforcement the tools to link crime guns to an established database. Since 1999, NIBIN partners have captured approximately 2.8 billion ballistic images and have confirmed more than 74,000 hits with the database.  [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] 

Loopholes In Delaware Law Does Not Require Law Enforcement Officers To Submit Ballistics Information Into Federal Ballistics Database. Under current Delaware law, ballistics information that is taken from a crime scene does not have to be entered into the NIBIN, unnecessarily prolonging criminal investigations and requiring additional labor hours.