DOVER, Del. (AP) - Delaware Senate Republicans are countering a Democratic proposal to expand gun purchase background checks with alternative proposals to crack down on illegal gun sales.
Senate Minority Leader Greg Lavelle said Thursday that he will introduce a bill creating a new crime for the sale of a firearm to a person prohibited from owning one. The bill would make it a misdemeanor to give or sell a gun to a person not allowed to have one, even if the seller didn't know the person was prohibited.
Republicans also plan to introduce another bill increasing the penalty for buying a firearm on behalf of a person not allowed to have one, a practice commonly known as a straw purchase.
