Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Delaware General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the current version. The official bill page.
SPONSOR: Rep. Spiegelman & Rep. Carson & Sen. Pettyjohn
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 4
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WEAPONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members
elected to each house thereof concurring therein):
1 Section 1. Amend § 101, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
2 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
3 § 101. Definitions.
4 For the purposes of Parts I and II of this title, unless otherwise specifically defined, or another intention clearly
5 appears, or the context requires a different meaning:
6 (1) “Department” means the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
7 (2) “Firearm” means as defined under § 222 of Title 11.
8 (2)(3) “Fish and Wildlife Agent” means a law enforcement officer employed by the Department of Natural
9 Resources and Environmental Control pursuant to this title and § 8003(13) of Title 29.
10 (3)(4) “Hunt” means to chase, pursue, kill, trap or take or attempt to chase, pursue, kill, trap or take any form
11 of wild bird or wild animal.
12 (5) “Projectile weapon” means as defined under § 222 of Title 11.
13 (4)(6) “Protected wildlife” means all forms of game and wildlife except such as are not protected by Parts I
14 and II of this title.
15 (5)(7) “Resident” means any person not an alien who has resided a year or more within this State.
16 (6)(8) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control or
17 the Secretary’s duly authorized designee, provided any such delegation of authority is consistent with Chapter 80 of
18 Title 29.
19 Section 2. Amend § 512, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
20 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
21 § 512. Refusal to sell and revocation of license; grounds; notice.
DLS : MJC : CM Page 1 of 5 Released: 01/09/2025 08:50 AM
4801530052
22 (a) The Department may, except as otherwise provided, revoke any hunting, fishing or trapping license, or any
23 license issued by it, and deny any person the right to secure such license or to hunt, fish or trap anywhere in this State for a
24 period within its discretion, but in no case longer than 1 year, if:
25 (1) The licensee or person has been convicted of violating any game or fish law; or
26 (2) The licensee or person has been convicted in any court of record of having defaced, mutilated, destroyed
27 or carried away notices posted by a freeholder, leaseholder or the Department, or personal property or crops of any
28 kind on lands or waters in which such licensee or person may have been hunting, trapping or fishing; or
29 (3) The licensee or person has been convicted of an offense involving carelessness in the use of firearms or
30 projectile weapons while hunting and thereby caused injury to any person or to poultry or livestock; or
31 (4) The licensee or person has been convicted of an offense involving the unlawful setting of forest, marsh or
32 grass fires; or
33 (5) It is established to the satisfaction of the Department that the licensee, while hunting with firearms,
34 firearms or projectile weapons, has been in an intoxicated condition.
35 Section 3. Amend § 703, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
36 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
37 § 703. Open season for game.
38 The open season during which it shall be lawful to catch, kill or pursue or attempt to catch, kill or pursue muskrat,
39 or to hunt red fox by chase only shall, respectively, be as follows, including, in each instance, the days defining the open
40 season:
41 (1) Muskrat. In New Castle County, December 1 to March 10, next following, but in embanked meadows or
42 marshes in New Castle County, the open season shall be from December 1 to March 20, next following; in Kent and
43 Sussex Counties, December 15 to March 15, next following.
44 (2) Red fox. October 1 to April 30, next following, red fox hunting whenever so permitted and whether
45 occurring on public or private lands as provided herein, shall be permitted by chase only from 1/2 hour before sunrise
46 until 1/2 hour after sunset. Red fox hunting shall be permitted only on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday during such
47 time when it is lawful to take deer with a firearm or archery. projectile weapon. However, red fox shall not be hunted
48 by chase at all during deer hunting season that takes place in October, November or December. Notwithstanding the
49 foregoing, red fox may be killed in accordance with § 788 of this title. The Division of Fish and Wildlife shall
50 determine those public lands that are available for fox hunting by chase during any deer hunting season. From January
DLS : MJC : CM Page 2 of 5 Released: 01/09/2025 08:50 AM
4801530052
51 through April, fox hunting by chase during deer hunting season shall be permissible on private lands only on Tuesday,
52 Wednesday and Thursday if the owner of the private land has authorized such hunting to occur thereon.
53 Section 4. Amend § 707, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
54 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
55 § 707. Hunting or shooting from motor vehicle, boats or farm machinery prohibited; penalty.
56 (a) No person shall shoot at or kill any bird or animal protected by the laws of this State by means of any firearms
57 or projectile weapons at any time or place while such person is the occupant of any motor vehicle, motor or sail boat or is
58 riding in or upon any piece of farm machinery, unless said person is legally hunting crippled migratory birds from a
59 motorboat as permitted by federal law. The presence of any person in or on any conveyance used in violation of this section
60 shall be deemed to be a violation of this section.
61 Section 5. Amend § 708, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
62 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
63 § 708. Loaded firearms or projectile weapons prohibited in or on motor vehicles, motorboats or farm machinery.
64 No person shall, for purposes of taking wildlife, have a loaded shotgun or rifle firearm or projectile weapon in that
65 person’s possession in, against or on any automobile, other vehicle, any piece of farm machinery, motorboat while under
66 power, sailboat while under power, or have any ammunition in the magazine or chamber of such shotgun or rifle firearm or
67 projectile weapon except when it is otherwise lawful to hunt crippled migratory birds from a motorboat as permitted by
68 federal law.
69 Section 6. Amend § 710, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
70 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
71 § 710. Use of silencer on gun; firearm or airgun; penalty.
72 Whoever uses a silencer or noise-reducing contrivance on any gun, rifle or firearm firearm or airgun when hunting
73 for game or fowl, shall be guilty of a class C environmental violation.
74 Section 7. Amend § 719, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
75 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
76 § 719. Discharge of firearms or projectile weapons on or near public roads and public rights-of-way; penalty.
77 (a) No person, except in lawful self-defense, shall discharge any firearm or projectile weapon while on or within
78 15 yards of a public road or right-of-way unless it is a road or right-of-way within an area controlled by the Department of
79 Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the Department of Agriculture of the State or the United States Department
80 of the Interior and is designated by the respective department as an area open to hunting or trapping.
DLS : MJC : CM Page 3 of 5 Released: 01/09/2025 08:50 AM
4801530052
81 Section 8. Amend § 722, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
82 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
83 § 722. Prohibition against use of lights; penalties.
84 (a) No person or persons shall hunt or attempt to hunt at nighttime any species of wild bird or wild animal with
85 any artificial light including the headlights of any vehicle or with any device that amplifies light using a power source
86 including but not limited to night vision and infrared devices. Possession in a motor vehicle or conveyance of any firearms
87 firearms, projectile weapons, or other implements with which wild birds or wild animals may be killed, exposed within
88 immediate reach, either loaded or unloaded, while using any artificial lights or any device that amplifies light, shall be
89 prima facie evidence of the use of such firearms firearms, projectile weapons, or other implements for hunting. Raccoons
90 or opossums may be hunted on foot or while riding on a horse or mule at nighttime during open season with the use of a
91 dog or artificial light or both. Frogs may be hunted on foot or from a boat at nighttime during open season with an artificial
92 light.
93 Section 9. Amend § 723, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
94 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
95 § 723. Hunting or trapping in safety zones; penalty.
96 (a) (1) No person, except the owner or occupant, occupant, or a person with the permission of the owner or
97 occupant, shall discharge a firearm or airgun within 100 yards of an occupied dwelling, house or residence or any barn,
98 stable or any other building used in connection therewith, while hunting or trapping for wild birds or wild animals of any
99 kind. The area within said distance shall be a “safety zone,” and it shall be unlawful to shoot at any wild bird or wild animal
100 while it is within such safety zone without the specific advance permission of the owner or tenant.
101 (2) Notwithstanding any other law or regulation to the contrary, the safety zone for hunting deer by archery
102 device during established archery seasons projectile weapon, excluding an airgun, shall be 50 yards.
103 (c) No person, except the owner or occupant, or a person with the permission of said owner or occupant, shall
104 discharge a firearm or projectile weapon so that a shot, slug or bullet slug, bullet, arrow, crossbow bolt, spear, or other
105 projectile lands upon any occupied dwelling, house, or residence, or any barn, stable or other building used in connection
106 therewith.
107 Section 10. Amend § 1707, Title 7 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
108 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
109 § 1707. Training of dogs; unlawful to carry firearm; firearm or projectile weapon; penalty.
110 (b) No person shall carry a firearm or projectile weapon while training a dog in closed game season.
DLS : MJC : CM Page 4 of 5 Released: 01/09/2025 08:50 AM
4801530052
SYNOPSIS
This Act amends Chapters 1, 5, 7, and 17 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code to be consistent with the recent
legislative change of the definition of a firearm in Title 11. This Act is needed to address public safety and enforcement
concerns. Archery equipment and air guns are no longer classified as firearms and the proposed amendments would
continue to make certain actions and activities with these “projectile weapons” prohibited, such as having these weapons
loaded or discharged from a vehicle, road, or within a designated safety zone. The Act recognizes that there are certain
actions and activities with “projectile weapons,” that should continue to be prohibited even though they are no longer
classified as “firearms.”
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution
requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to expand the
scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace
Court. Section 1309 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code provides that the Justice of the Peace Court has jurisdiction of the
offenses being amended by this Act.
DLS : MJC : CM Page 5 of 5 Released: 01/09/2025 08:50 AM
4801530052Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.