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Beau Biden Backs Stiffer Gun Possession Penalties for Violent Felons

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Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden is giving his backing to a proposal to stiffen penalties for violent felons who unlawfully possess a gun.

Biden’s measure would establish a minimum three-year sentence for any convicted felon found in possession of a gun.

That sentence would go up to five years if the gun-possession charges come within 10 years of a violent felony conviction.

The Wilmington News Journal reports that the amendment comes just as the gun control package is facing some difficulties in the General Assembly.

So, Biden, Governor Jack Markell and Lt. Gov. Matt Denn have joined forces on a number of gun control measures that come in the wake of the Connecticut school shooting that left 20 children dead.

The paper notes that only one of their measures has reached the floor of the General Assembly that is requiring background checks on most private gun sales which passed the House of Representative last month.

Other proposals range from reporting lost and stolen firearms to a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.