Gun rights advocates have filed a federal lawsuit challenging continued virtual meetings of the Delaware General Assembly after Democrats rammed two controversial gun-control bills through the state Senate.
The lawsuit was filed Friday against Democrat and Republican leaders of the House and Senate. It comes amid partisan bickering over the Democrat-controlled legislature continuing to meet online rather than in person. The decision by Senate Democrats to fast-track passage of the gun control bills last week served only to fan the flames.
Republicans are particularly upset about a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that drew more than 800 online attendees. Only about 30 or 40 people were allowed to speak on the gun bills during the two-hour hearing, and they were limited to one minute. Many of them were cut off in mid-sentence after 60 seconds.
The plaintiffs say they have been “aggrieved” by being denied the opportunity to speak against the bills or, in the case of Mitch Denham, president of a group called Delaware Gun Rights, being allowed only one minute to speak.