Speaker Schwartzkopf gives his take on the state of the state address Jason N Minto, The News Journal


Most Delawareans probably never thought about "ghost" guns or considered whether the state should raise the age at which someone can purchase tobacco products.

But both topics soon will become the focus of intense debate at Legislative Hall.

Gov. John Carney on Thursday called for legislation dealing with both issues during his annual State of the State Address.

The governor says he wants to outlaw so-called "ghost" guns, a term that refers to homemade weapons assembled with untraceable parts, such as firearms made with 3-D printers.

He also wants to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21, arguing that doing so would help reduce health care costs for all Delawareans.

The following are 11 questions and answers to help put both issues in context:

1. What are "ghost" guns?

The spooky sounding phrase essentially describes firearms that exist due to a loophole in federal Gun Control Act of 1968 that allows someone to purchase unfinished parts that do not technically become a "gun" until they've been completed by a buyer.

2. So what's the problem?

Gun control advocates say do-it-yourself "ghost" guns pose a threat because no background check is needed to purchase the parts, which means they can be acquired and assembled by felons and people with mental illness.

Selling a completed homemade gun is illegal but ownership is virtually untraceable because no serial number is required on the parts.

3. Why is this a concern now?

Fear of the "ghost" gun loophole has become more pronounced since 2013 when homemade firearms entered the digital age with companies publishing downloadable plans for plastic guns that could be made by any commercially available 3-D printer.

Gun control advocates fear the largely rudimentary technology eventually could result in untraceable firearms on demand.

4. What's being done?

The Obama Administration attempted keep plans for 3D-printed guns off the internet resulting in a lawsuit that was settled by the Trump Administration last summer, effectively allowing the files to be published. Nineteen states, including Delaware, have since filed their own suit seeking to challenge that settlement.

5. Is there an actual threat?

Depends on who you ask. Local Second Amendment advocates say "ghost" guns are virtually non-existent in Delaware and point to a lack of statistics about their use by criminals. But gun control advocates cite a few isolated cases nationally where traditional homemade guns were seized, including a 2017 mass shooting in California.

6. Why is Delaware getting involved?

Democratic governors like Carney are pushing to ban "ghost" guns at the state level. A California law that took effect in 2018 requires self-assembled weapons to be registered with the state and meet certain safety standards.

New Jersey outlawed self-assembled guns outright and made distributing plans for 3-D printed guns illegal. Delaware lawmakers took up several gun control measures last year and will be adding this one to the mix in 2019.

7. What is the smoking age?

"Smoking age" here is shorthand for the age at which Delaware allows someone to purchase a tobacco product or what the law calls a "tobacco substitute," but most of us refer to as an e-cigarette or a vape. That minimum has been 18 years old since 1996 –when it was raised from 17.

8. Why does Carney want to raise it to 21?

The governor cited ballooning health care costs as the leading reason during his speech Thursday. He specifically said he wants to raise the age for purchasing cigarettes – the leading cause of "preventable death and disability" in Delaware despite a steady decline in the number of people who smoke.

The legislation's likely sponsor Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark/Bear, said he plans to include all forms of tobacco products.

9. How many people would that impact?

A hard number is difficult to come by but the Delaware Division of Public Health says its surveys show nearly a third of smokers are between the ages of 18 and 34. Seventeen percent of adults who smoke say they first picked up the habit between the ages of 18 and 21, while 72 percent started even younger.

10. Isn't the number of kids smoking already on the decline?

That is true both nationally and in Delaware. Cigarette smoking has nosedived among middle and high school students over the last two decades but vaping use has spiked in recent years, even after Delaware banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors in 2014. Nearly 14 percent of public high school students now identify as vape users.

11. When will the Legislature vote on "ghost" guns and the smoking age?

No one knows at this point. Carney referenced legislative proposals but so far no bills dealing with either issue have been introduced. That will likely change by the time spring arrives.

For now no hearings and no votes are scheduled.



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