Delaware

Delaware has no statute requiring a permit for open carry; only concealed carry is licensed (11 Del. C. §1442, Concealed Deadly Weapon License). I could not reach an official delcode.delaware.gov page confirming this directly this session (the chapter/subchapter I tried was the wrong one), so this rests on consistent secondary-source corroboration (Alien Gear, Battlbox) rather than a fetched primary text — flagging that gap honestly.

Delaware has no church-specific carry statute; places of worship are ordinary private property that may restrict firearms, enforceable via trespass law rather than a firearms-specific offense.

Multiple independent secondary sources (USCCA, Battlbox, handgunlaw.us) agree Delaware bars carry in true bars/nightclubs but allows a restaurant patron who is not consuming alcohol to carry. I could not pin the exact Delaware Code citation via a primary source in the time available, so this stays conditional rather than a confirmed yes despite the consistent secondary corroboration.

Delaware issues a Concealed Deadly Weapon Permit through Superior Court after AG review; a targeted search for a Delaware boating/watercraft firearms restriction found none, and Delaware's core prohibited-place rules (schools, certain government buildings, etc.) do not name boats or waterways. Confidence is moderate — this rests on absence of a found restriction rather than an explicit statutory statement about vessels.

Secondary sources (consistent across several) place Delaware's courthouse/police-station/detention-facility firearm ban at 11 Del. C. §§1256 and 1258, distinct from the Safe School/Recreation Zone provisions of §1457. I was not able to pull the exact statutory text directly to confirm the courthouse citation word-for-word, so treat that specific citation as good-faith secondary corroboration rather than independently verified. No general 'all government buildings' ban surfaced in research, so a DMV or city hall appears unrestricted absent separate posting.

Delaware's "College or University Safe Zone" law (Ch. 482, Vol. 84, effective Jan. 1, 2025) makes possessing a firearm in a campus safe zone a class A misdemeanor, applying to public and private institutions alike; narrow law-enforcement and locked-vehicle exceptions.

Delaware has no statewide statute requiring a specific sign; general legal commentary describes carry as allowed 'almost anywhere' absent a posted restriction, consistent with the standard opt-out/trespass model.

No Delaware statute requires advance owner consent; secondary legal-summary source (delawaregunlaws.com) corroborates that a CCDW license does not override property rights and that the owner must communicate a prohibition (sign or instruction) before trespass applies — consistent with the general opt-out default under 11 Del. C. Title 11 trespass provisions. Corroborated by only one secondary source, so flagged as slightly lower confidence than the directly-verified states.

No Delaware source found addressing airports specifically; the prohibited-places summary I could access was incomplete (it referenced a 'Places off-limits when carrying' section without airports appearing in the visible list). I could not independently verify Delaware's statute (11 Del. C. § 1441 area) or find any secondary corroboration, so this is unresolved rather than a confirmed yes.

Delaware has no permitless carry; 11 Del. C. §1442 makes carrying a CONCEALED deadly weapon without a CCDW license a Class G felony. After repeated attempts, I could not pull the actual text of §1441-1444 from Delaware's official code site (it kept truncating before that section), and neither NRA-ILA nor Wikipedia surfaced a specific statutory vehicle carve-out (the kind most other states have, e.g. 'unloaded + cased isn't concealed'). Delaware has a reputation as one of the few states WITHOUT such a carve-out, but I could not confirm that from a primary source this session — treat 'no permit needed if it's just in the car' as unconfirmed, and assume a license is needed for a firearm out of plain view in a vehicle.

No Delaware statute prohibits firearms in hospitals.

Delaware issues concealed-deadly-weapon licenses under 11 Del. C. §1441; unlike many states, Delaware has not enacted a comprehensive post-Bruen 'sensitive places' statute, and no rest-area-specific restriction was found. Verified against the statute text directly.

Del. Code Ann. tit. 11 § 1441 is noted as having "No requirement to inform law enforcement on contact that the person is a conceal-carry licensee." Could not independently pull full statute text (delcode.delaware.gov pages did not render), so relying on this well-regarded secondary compilation's direct quote of the provision.

Delaware DOJ: the CCDW license is only for "Delaware residents who wish to carry a concealed deadly weapon," defined as someone who holds/is required to hold a Delaware driver's license and/or is registered to vote in Delaware. Non-residents are covered only through reciprocity recognition of their own state's permit, not by a Delaware-issued license.

11 Del. C. §1457A bans firearms in 'Safe School Zones' (buildings, structures, athletic fields/stadiums, school vehicles); a concealed carry licensee's exception is limited to possessing the firearm while it stays in their vehicle, and an unlicensed person is likewise fine if the gun is in a locked container/rack in the vehicle — neither gets to carry inside the building or on the grounds themselves.

No Delaware-specific firearm-signage criminal statute is known to me, and I could not fetch Delaware's general trespass statute (11 Del. C. § 821 et seq.) to confirm its notice requirements in this session.

Del. Code tit. 22 § 111 (municipalities) and tit. 9 § 330(c)-(d) (counties) bar local ownership/possession/transport ordinances. Local governments may only regulate discharge and restrict firearms in police stations/municipal buildings (not their parking areas), and cannot apply such restrictions to valid Delaware carry-permit holders.

11 Del. C. § 1457A makes it a class A misdemeanor to knowingly possess a firearm at a polling place on Election Day (including early voting, and within 100 ft of drop boxes/clerk's offices for 40 days pre-election). Exceptions are for peace officers, commissioned security guards, and military on duty — not general CCW permit holders. State law also requires posted signage.

17-round limit enacted by SB 6/SB 66 (2022, effective Aug. 29, 2022); exempts law enforcement, military, and Delaware CCW permit holders. Upheld by a federal district judge in March 2023 despite the court finding the magazines 'in common use.' Delaware sits in the Third Circuit, which struck down New Jersey's materially similar 10-round ban en banc in July 2026 (ANJRPC v. Platkin) — Delaware's pending district-court challenge is widely expected to be reshaped by that ruling, but the 17-round ban remains on the books and enforced as of research date. Could not confirm the precise Del. Code Ann. tit. 11 section number from available sources — only the bill citation.

Lethal Violence Protective Order (formerly 'Extreme Risk Protection Order'), 10 Del. C. § 7701 et seq. (2018). Family members (as defined in the statute) or law enforcement may petition for a standard LVPO; only law enforcement may petition for the emergency ex parte order.

Delaware's destructive-weapons statute (11 Del. C. §1444) independently criminalizes possession (Class E felony) of firearm silencers and sawed-off/short-barreled shotguns and machine guns regardless of federal NFA registration — exceptions only for military/police, certified wildlife biologists (silencers only), and machine guns possessed strictly for registered scientific/research purposes. Short-barreled RIFLES are not named in §1444's list (only shotguns), and an independent secondary source confirms SBRs remain permitted for civilians while SBS and machine guns are forbidden. Overall Delaware bans most core NFA categories (suppressors, SBS, machine guns) outright at the state level.

Castle Doctrine state: Del. Code tit. 11, § 464(e) — deadly force not justifiable if it can be avoided with complete safety by retreating, except no duty to retreat from the actor's own dwelling or place of work (unless also the assailant's workplace) if not the initial aggressor. No duty at home/workplace; duty in public.

Del. Code tit. 11, § 1448B (2013, SB 65) requires private firearm sales to be processed through a licensed dealer for a NICS check; exceptions for immediate family and certain temporary transfers.

11 Del. C. §1444 independently criminalizes possession of a firearm silencer (Class E felony) regardless of federal NFA registration, with narrow exceptions only for military/police and certified wildlife biologists.

The same §1444 bans machine guns and firearms adaptable for automatic fire outright, with a narrow exception only for machine guns possessed strictly for registered scientific/research purposes -- ordinary federal NFA registration alone does not make one lawful in Delaware.

§1444's list (bombs/bombshells, silencers, sawed-off shotguns, machine guns, bump stocks) does not name short-barreled rifles, and a secondary NFA-trust source confirms SBRs remain lawful in Delaware once federally registered (though the City of Wilmington separately bans SBR possession within city limits by local ordinance).

Sawed-off shotguns are explicitly named in §1444 with no federal-compliance exception, making them a Class E felony to possess regardless of NFA registration.

§1444 bans 'bombs, bombshells' (destructive devices) outright with no NFA exception, but does not mention AOWs at all; a secondary NFA-trust source states AOWs are lawful in Delaware once federally registered.