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A new Delaware law will require adult supervision for hunters under the age of 21. (Photo by Realtree)

Delaware hunters are voicing opposition to a new law that went into effect that will require all hunters under age 21 to hunt under adult supervision. Previously, Delaware residents 16 and older could hunt without adult supervision once they’d received their hunting license.

According to spotlightdelaware.org, House Bill 451, passed in 2022, raised the minimum age to purchase a gun in Delaware from 18 to 21. It also required that residents under the age of 21 must have adult supervision while hunting in the state.

Hunters, particularly those in southern Delaware, are speaking out about the more restrictive hunting supervision rules that took effect on June 30. They say the law puts a damper on longtime hunting culture norms and is a misplaced attempt to crack down on gun violence.

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Adrien Cortez, an 18-year-old from Ellendale, said the new rule hinders the independence he has been working toward since his childhood.

“Most of us around here were taught to shoot at about the age of 10, and a lot of us received our first hunting rifles or hunting shotguns around 12 or 13,” Cortez said. “By the time you’re 18, it’s just second nature to you.”

Delaware State Senate President Pro Tempore David Sokola (D), one of the sponsors of HB 451, said since 21 is the minimum age for buying alcohol and renting a car, it made sense to make purchasing and operating a gun consistent with those other limits.

Traci Manza Murphy, executive director of the Coalition for a Safer Delaware, a group that lobbied for HB 451, agreed with Sokola, saying she’s mainly concerned with the fact that 18- to 21 -year-olds’ brains are still developing, which can cause them to be “impulsive and reckless.”

“Giving them access to lethal means during those times means that you get worse outcomes because [they’re] just unable to regulate,” she added.

So far, 21 states, including Delaware, had passed laws requiring people to be 21 to purchase firearms.

Rep. Bryan Shupe (R-Milford) disapproves of the legislation.

“For many of these 18 to 20-year-olds, it’s a great outlet for them to be outdoors and to appreciate the natural beauty,” he told Spotlight Delaware. “They’re not picking stuff like going to the bars or getting in trouble in other ways.”

Jeff Hague, executive director of the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, the state’s National Rifle Association affiliate, said, “The legislators that support this type of legislation don’t have a clue about hunting, fishing, trapping, any sporting events, any competitive shooting events,” Hague said. “They pass these laws about firearms because it’s easy.”

Gibson Wright, director of the Delaware chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a national hunting and conservation organization, agreed with Hague, claiming that the new regulations will primarily impact law-abiding hunters.

“If there is a person who’s mentally ill and wants to go shoot some people, he’s going to be able to get his hands on a weapon,” he said.

Shupe said that when the legislature resumes in January, he plans to introduce legislation to overturn the law’s hunting supervision requirements.