Secure ammunition storage bill passes Delaware House, heads to Senate
DOVER — Nearly a year after Delaware’s Department of Justice announced the theft of over 500,000 rounds of ammunition at the Christiana Cabela’s, state lawmakers are working to set …
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Secure ammunition storage bill passes Delaware House, heads to Senate
By DOVER — Nearly a year after Delaware’s Department of Justice announced the theft of over 500,000 rounds of ammunition at the Christiana Mall Cabela’s, state lawmakers are working to set standards on how ammunition is secured at gun stores.
Following the June 2023 announcement, Rep. Kim Williams, D-Newport, began working on legislation to address ammunition thefts in collaboration with the Delaware State Police, leading to the introduction of House Bill 270 in December.
Under the proposal, licensed gun dealers would be required to display ammunition in a secure way that prevents customer access without vendor assistance.
A civil penalty would be created for violations of the policy, as gun licensees that violate the law would be penalized $500 on their first offense, $1,000 on a second offense and $5,000 for any subsequent violations.
The pattern of thefts at Cabela’s prompted the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the Christiana location, which stored its ammunition in the middle of its sales floor unsecured.
The department reported that the store made “no apparent effort to stop massive shoplifting,” and after sending a subpoena to Cabela’s, the store’s stock of ammunition was relocated to behind a sales counter.
“According to Attorney General Kathy Jennings, a large and substantial amount of missing ammo ended up on the black market, in the hands of drug dealers and other criminals, and that is the case with most, if not all, ammunition thefts,” said Rep. Williams’ during the bill’s consideration in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The more than 500,000 rounds of ammo stolen from Cabela’s was largely used in sales to “violent criminals and drug dealers” in Delaware and Pennsylvania, according to the Attorney General’s office.
A 2022 report released by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms listed Newark as the state’s top source city for recovered crime guns, with 1,126 retrieved in the city compared to 540 in New Castle, the second ranked source city in the state.
Further, only 17 of Delaware’s 152 gun dealer licenses were located in Newark, two of which belong to Cabela’s.
After House Bill 270’s introduction in December 2023, the legislation was substituted on March 21 after receiving recommendations by House Judiciary Committee members and the Delaware State Sportsmen’s’ Association.
One change made to the legislation was a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption related to the application process for gun dealer licensees.
The policy requires licensees to include a description of their theft and loss prevention policies, as well as a report of all ammunition losses or thefts over the year prior, though that information would not be subject to FOIA and would not be a basis for denial of an initial license or renewal.
The substitute version also reduced monetary civil penalties under the bill, removed a clause that declared ammunition theft as a class G felony regardless of the value and changed jurisdiction of the offense from Justice of the Peace Court to the Court of Common Pleas.
During the bill’s consideration on the House floor Thursday, Rep. Bryan Shupe, R-Milford, pushed back on the proposal, stating that the legislation puts “another mandate on a business instead of addressing the individuals that are the criminals themselves.”
The Milford Republican referenced the culprit of the string of ammunition thefts at Cabela’s: Danielle Brookens, 38, who was arrested in December 2022 for the crimes, pleading guilty to possession of ammunition by a prohibited person before being sentenced to a drug diversion program.
“She was sentenced only to drug rehabilitation and nothing else, and was let go on back onto the streets,” Rep. Shupe said. “This is another example where we need to strengthen our criminal justice system and focus on the criminals instead of always putting it back on the business community and … making sure that those that are the (thieves) or creating the criminal element are the ones that we’re taking care of as well.”
Following his remarks, lawmakers moved to a roll call on House Substitute 1 for House Bill 270 with a clarifying amendment placed with the legislation. The proposal passed by a vote of 27 yes and nine no, meaning it now heads to the Senate for further consideration.
As lawmakers carry on with their efforts to enact the legislation, a legal battle between the state and Cabela’s has also continued.
The U.S. District Court for Delaware blocked an attempt by Cabela’s Inc. to move the stolen ammunition lawsuit to federal court in January, which kept the case in Delaware Superior Court.
According to Delaware’s Department of Justice, the retail company has failed to produce any meaningful answers to the state’s questions since submitting their subpoena last year.
In their investigation, the state will explore the extent of responsibility Cabela’s faces regarding the stolen ammunition scheme and which laws were potentially violated by the company.
That includes the Keshall “KeKe” Anderson Safe Firearms Sales Act, which became law in June 2022 and is named after an innocent 19-year-old who was killed in a 2016 shooting involving a firearm purchased through a straw purchase at Cabela’s.
The law removes immunity from liability of firearm dealers involved in straw purchases, thus allowing impacted families of victims to sue for damages related to the negligence.
