Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 422

FORMERLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 558

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 5, TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE PROVIDING CERTAIN PUNISHMENTS UPON CONVICTION FOR THE CRIME OF POSSESSION OF A DEADLY WEAPON BY A PERSON PROHIBITED AND RELATING TO THE DEFINITION THEREOF.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend §1448, Chapter 5, of Title 11 by deleting present §1448 of Title 11 in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof, the following:

"§1448. Possession and Purchase of Deadly Weapons by Persons Prohibited: Class F Felony,

(a) Except as otherwise provided herein, the following persons are

prohibited from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon within the State of Delaware:

(1-) Any person having been convicted in this State or elsewhere of a felony or a crime of violence involving physical injury to another, whether or not armed with or having in his possession any weapon during the commission of such felony or crime of violence;

(a) Any person who has ever been committed for a mental disorder to any hospital, mental institution, or sanitarium, unless he possesses a certificate of a medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed in this State that he is no longer suffering from a mental disorder which interferes or handicaps him from handling deadly weapons;

(2) Any person who has been convicted for the unlawful use,
possession or sale of a narcotic, dangerous drug, or central nervous system depressant or stimulant as those terms were defined prior to the effective date of the Uniform Control Substances Act in June 1973 or of a narcotic drug or controlled substance as defined in Chapter 46 or Title 16; or

(3) Any person who, as a juvenile, has been adjudicated as
delinquent for conduct which, if committed by an adult, would constitute a felony, unless and until that person has reached his twenty—fifth birthday.

(b) Any prohibited person as set forth in Subsection (a) hereof who knowingly possesses, purchases, owns, or controls a deadly weapon while so prohibited shall be guilty of possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited.

(c) Possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited is a Class F felony.

(d) Any person who is a prohibited person solely as the result of a conviction for an offense which is not a felony shall not be prohibited from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon if five years has elapsed from the date of conviction."

Approved July 21, 1992.