On June 10, 2026, the Delaware Supreme Court heard oral arguments in DE Department of Safety and Homeland Security, et al. v. Birney, et al., a dispute over whether Delaware can stop adults under 21 from buying or owning most firearms. The justices convened for a case that gun rights advocates treat as a defining test of how far state constitutional protections stretch for young adults.
The fight began with House Bill 451, which then-Governor John Carney signed on June 30, 2022. The law raised the minimum age to purchase, own, possess, or control most firearms in Delaware from 18 to 21.
A 1968 federal statute already blocked anyone under 21 from buying handguns, but HB 451 reached further—covering rifles and broadening the handgun rules to include ownership and possession—while carving out exceptions for shotguns and muzzle-loading rifles, as well as for active-duty military, law enforcement, and concealed-carry permit holders. It also required hunters between 18 and 20 to stay under the direct supervision of a person 21 or older.
Gavin J. Birney, a Delaware hunter who wanted to buy a firearm before turning 21, challenged the measure right after Carney signed it. The Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, the NRA’s state affiliate, joined him along with the Bridgeville Rifle and Pistol Club. After the Court of Chancery dismissed the matter, the Kent County Superior Court took it up.
On August 29, 2025, Superior Court Judge Reneta L. Green-Streett granted summary judgment for the challengers and struck down HB 451’s age restrictions, finding that they clashed with Article I, Section 20 of the Delaware Constitution, which provides that “a person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for hunting and recreational use.”
She concluded that “at a minimum, some provisions of HB 451 infringe on the right of a subsection of adults, aged 18 to 20,” leaving intact the parts of the law that don’t touch that age group.
The state appealed, which flipped the caption and put the Department of Safety and Homeland Security in the lead as appellant. The challengers filed a cross appeal, signaling they want broader relief than the trial court delivered.
Gun rights organizations believe the case goes beyond one hunter. They argue that Article I, Section 20 protects more than the federal Second Amendment because it spells out defense of self, family, home, and state alongside hunting and recreation.
In their lawsuit, the challengers said lawmakers passed HB 451 “in defiance” of both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Delaware Supreme Court, courts that had already recognized a fundamental right to self defense.
The DSSA’s complaint described the statute as turning young adults into “criminals—felons—for exercising one of their most exalted rights.” DSSA president and executive director Jeff Hague called the law “downright despicable” and said the group went to court “to vindicate those rights and to put an end” to unconstitutional gun rules.
After the Superior Court win, Hague told Spotlight Delaware, “We believe that all the laws that they passed back in 2022 are unconstitutional, and this just affirms our beliefs from three years ago.” He welcomed the result yet voiced frustration that the case had “been in limbo for a number of months,” landing just days before the 2025 hunting season opened.
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Across Delaware’s gun litigation, advocates lean on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen, which requires the government to show that a firearm rule fits “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
The DSSA’s attorneys argued “there is no historical tradition of banning arms in common use by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes,” noting that nearly every young adult in the Founding era was expected to own and carry firearms.
The DSSA treats HB 451 as one piece of a 2022 regulatory scheme, and it is simultaneously challenging Delaware’s semiautomatic weapons ban, large capacity magazine limits, and permit to purchase law. The Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition have brought up related cases, with the SAF warning that Delaware’s laws have “literally criminalized ownership of these popular arms” and that “each day these laws remain in effect means one more day when Delaware citizens are deprived of their rights.”
Now the dispute reaches the state’s highest court. The record holds opening, answering, and reply briefs on both the appeal and cross appeal, plus an amicus brief from the Giffords Law Center backing the state. If the justices affirm, HB 451’s age limits stay struck down. If they reverse, the ban on purchases and possession by 18- to 20-year-olds returns.
Either way, the ruling will stand as a closely watched marker for how state constitutions shape gun rights for young adults.
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About José Niño
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can contact him via Facebook and X/Twitter. Subscribe to his Substack newsletter by visiting “Jose Nino Unfiltered” on Substack.com.
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