Gun bill may be too costly

[demsrule4life]

Many fear prison overcrowding

In an effort to crack down on gun-related crime in Delaware, House Speaker Terry Spence, R-Stratford, last year proposed drastically ratcheting up penalties for use of a firearm during the commission of a serious crime.

Under current law, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony carries a minimum mandatory sentence of three years in prison.

Spence's bill would retain the three-year minimum for possession of a gun. But if a criminal displayed the gun, he would face a minimum of 15 years behind bars.

Shooting a gun during the commission of a felony would result in a mandatory 25-year sentence, and wounding someone would result in life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"I don't want you on the streets, I don't want you in the state," said Spence, a member of the National Rifle Association. "I want you in jail."

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/04/04panelgunbillmay.html