Gun rights advocates file second lawsuit against weapons ban in state parks and forests

Gun rights advocates are back in court challenging the state's revised rules regarding where firearms are allowed in parks and forests.

The latest lawsuit, filed in Superior Court this week, follows a Delaware Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that a gun ban in state parks and forests was unconstitutional.

The new suit says new limitations on firearms finalized earlier this month suffer some of the same inadequacies as the full ban that was in effect for decades.

“They’re in the same position they were before the regulations were struck down,” said Jeff Hague, president of Delaware’s local National Rifle Association affiliate, the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association.

The lawsuit was filed by the state association and Bridgeville Rifle & Pistol Club member John Sylvester against the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the state Department of Agriculture and those agencies’ secretaries.

The plaintiffs contend in the lawsuit that the revised ban, which essentially sets designated gun-free zones in state parks, forests and wildlife areas, is at odds with both the Delaware and United States constitutions.

“A deprivation of constitutional rights can constitute irreparable harm,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants are depriving plaintiffs of their constitutional right to keep and bear arms both inside rented living spaces, and outside the home.”

Those designated weapon-free areas outlined in the regulations adopted on May 11 include lodges in state forests, campgrounds, visitor centers and similar public gathering areas.

While open carry would be prohibited in those “designated areas,” the new regulations allow “active duty and qualified retired law enforcement officers” as well as people with valid permits to carry a concealed deadly weapon to keep their firearms in those places.

The revised rules came several months after a state Supreme Court decision declared a full ban unconstitutional. The ban was immediately invalidated, and DNREC and the agriculture department responded with the new rules.

"The Supreme Court thought our regulations were too broad," DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin said previously. "We're complying with the Supreme Court's decision and want to make sure that there's a complete understanding of what can happen in our parks as it relates to firearms."

Department of Agriculture Secretary Michael Scuse also supported the new rules.

“We believe the regulations that we put into effect apply to the Supreme Court ruling and were put into place to protect the public,” Scuse said in an emailed statement.

The new rules stipulate that people who can carry in those designated areas may have to show proof of that right if asked by a parks or forest employee. People with concealed carry permits from different states may be allowed to keep their firearms in those areas as well, at the discretion of the agency directors.

The lawsuit contends that the boundaries of prohibited areas is unclear, and that it is impermissible to “allow representatives of each agency to demand identification of any person, sufficient to perform a ‘background check’ without probable cause.”

“The challenged regulations also run afoul of the plaintiffs’ rights under the Second Amendment,” the lawsuit reads.

Hague said people like Sylvester are burdened by the old and new regulations when they come to Delaware for firearm competitions, like the rifle matches held at the Bridgeville clubs, and are unable to camp because of the prohibition on firearms in those areas.

“The other part about it that they don’t consider, and I don’t think they did in the first one, is when you rent a yurt or a cabin or some sort of facility, that is your abode for the night,” Hague said. “And you have the right to defend yourself under the state Constitution. In my humble opinion, they’re just doing the same thing that they did before that the court said they weren’t allowed to do. They’re exceeding their authority.”

The lawsuit claims both DNREC and the state Department of Agriculture are overstepping their authority to limit firearms since the General Assembly has not given those agencies the authority to regulate firearms.

The lawsuit asks the court for declaratory relief by ruling that the new regulations — like the original rules — are “unlawful (and therefore unenforceable).” The lawsuit also seeks compensation for attorney fees and costs.

Contact reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.

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