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Old 10-07-2015, 01:00 PM
 
6,681 posts, read 4,390,917 times
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Backyard gun ranges would be banned in densely-populated residential areas under legislation that cleared a second committee in the Florida House Wednesday, but the bill would not address complaints about constant shooting in one Southwest Florida neighborhood.

The Legislation sponsored by Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Peterburg, prohibits the recreational discharge of firearms on any residential property that is an acre or smaller.

*To continue reading the full article click the following link:

Backyard gun ranges under fire, but ban would not address concerns in North Port | October 7, 2015 | Zac Anderson | HT Politics
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Old 10-08-2015, 05:13 PM
 
6,681 posts, read 4,390,917 times
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Here's a related article from today that I found interesting:

Williams: Disabled man's gun range center of debate | HeraldTribune.com
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Old 10-09-2015, 02:16 PM
 
Location: Lakewood Ranch, FL
5,663 posts, read 10,678,943 times
Reputation: 6944
I think it would be great to have my own backyard shooting range! If I lived out in "the country", I'd have one...no doubt about it. But, I have to admit that if I had to listen to firecrackers going off everyday, even if the noise didn't exceed the allowable noise level, I'd hate living there, and I have no doubt that the property values would go down significantly. So, I understand why neighbors, even in larger tract communities, would be upset about backyard ranges. Compound that with the notion that the noise level ordinances have no bearing on the right to have a range, that the noise is not from firecrackers but from guns, and that, with guns, it's not just the noise that can make its way to my property, and I arrive at the conclusion that the law has to change.

Anyone who has been to an indoor range and seen the bullet marks all over the ceilings and walls understands and will agree, if they are being intellectually honest, that there is no such thing as a safe backyard range unless there is literally no one around in any direction for at least the minimum distance a bullet can optimally fly from the gun and ammo being used. Mistakes happen even to the most disciplined of shooters.

Most 'common sense" gun laws are actually pretty much feel-good but useless attempts to achieve a political end rather than achieve greater safety. In this case, I'm all for property rights but my "common sense" tells me that, short of an underground culvert-type range, there's too much chance for a tragic mistake to happen with these backyard arrangements and no neighbor should be forced to endure the sound of gunfire. At the very least, they should require minimum distances to neighboring property and require suppressors if the sound can be heard at neighboring properties. Of course, they should also remove the nonsensical requirements and costs associated with obtaining suppressors but that's another discussion.
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Old 10-09-2015, 06:15 PM
 
2,407 posts, read 3,163,581 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbronston View Post
I think it would be great to have my own backyard shooting range! If I lived out in "the country", I'd have one...no doubt about it. But, I have to admit that if I had to listen to firecrackers going off everyday, even if the noise didn't exceed the allowable noise level, I'd hate living there, and I have no doubt that the property values would go down significantly. So, I understand why neighbors, even in larger tract communities, would be upset about backyard ranges. Compound that with the notion that the noise level ordinances have no bearing on the right to have a range, that the noise is not from firecrackers but from guns, and that, with guns, it's not just the noise that can make its way to my property, and I arrive at the conclusion that the law has to change.

Anyone who has been to an indoor range and seen the bullet marks all over the ceilings and walls understands and will agree, if they are being intellectually honest, that there is no such thing as a safe backyard range unless there is literally no one around in any direction for at least the minimum distance a bullet can optimally fly from the gun and ammo being used. Mistakes happen even to the most disciplined of shooters.

Most 'common sense" gun laws are actually pretty much feel-good but useless attempts to achieve a political end rather than achieve greater safety. In this case, I'm all for property rights but my "common sense" tells me that, short of an underground culvert-type range, there's too much chance for a tragic mistake to happen with these backyard arrangements and no neighbor should be forced to endure the sound of gunfire. At the very least, they should require minimum distances to neighboring property and require suppressors if the sound can be heard at neighboring properties. Of course, they should also remove the nonsensical requirements and costs associated with obtaining suppressors but that's another discussion.
I wish all gun enthusiasts were as sensible as you are. Unfortunately, I think you are a rarity. All you need to do is read the first few paragraphs of this article to see how stupid some folks are.

Fla. law allows backyard shooting ranges | HeraldTribune.com

Why in the world would he have a shooting range where someone has to give an "all clear" over a waterway? Can you say "stupid"? The state is so worried about protecting the gun owners rights but they aren't protecting the rest of us from their stupidity.
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Old 06-01-2016, 09:56 PM
 
6,681 posts, read 4,390,917 times
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It looks like some poor guy in Sarasota got killed from a stray bullet - because some idiot was careless when "target shooting" in his back yard:

A 'stray round' takes a Sarasota man's life | HeraldTribune.com
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Old 06-02-2016, 08:16 AM
 
Location: Lakewood Ranch, FL
5,663 posts, read 10,678,943 times
Reputation: 6944
That's an awful story...and a perfect example of exactly what I was talking about earlier in the thread. Yes it was an accident but it was an accident made possible by irresponsible legislation. Those lots are like 2+ acres there and, as I said, even if there was a berm built or a large backstop, accidents happen, misses happen, even bad sights happen. It just makes no sense to allow backyard ranges in places where there is even a remote chance of this happening and to think that ranges were permitted in areas where lots could be a fraction of the size found in this area was just nuts. The law was changed earlier this year, though, to restrict backyard ranges from areas that have one or more homes per acre of land but, if I understand the law correctly and if the neighbor that was shooting was also on a 2+ acre parcel, that range would have been legal. Clearly, there is not enough protection....still.

It's true that legislation can't protect you from every possible risk but legislation that enables situations that are plainly dangerous is just plain wrong. And I am what I suppose most people might call a pro-2nd amendment kind of guy.
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Old 06-02-2016, 08:30 PM
 
Location: Port Charlotte
3,930 posts, read 6,401,377 times
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A man got killed by an accidental shot. One man. The number of people injured by backyard ranges is very tiny. Compare that to the number of people shot in, say, Chicago, New Orleans, or Fort Myers in gang violence. Multiple people are killed each week, and gun laws do nothing to halt such actions.

Focus on the real problems.
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Old 06-02-2016, 09:00 PM
 
Location: Lakewood Ranch, FL
5,663 posts, read 10,678,943 times
Reputation: 6944
Quote:
Originally Posted by Restrain View Post
A man got killed by an accidental shot. One man. The number of people injured by backyard ranges is very tiny. Compare that to the number of people shot in, say, Chicago, New Orleans, or Fort Myers in gang violence. Multiple people are killed each week, and gun laws do nothing to halt such actions.

Focus on the real problems.
Ok....So, how many people should die from stray bullets fired from residential lots IN FLORIDA (we are talking about Florida) to warrant another look at the backyard gun range law? What's your magic number? This isn't really a "gun law" issue. This is essentially a zoning law, a land use law. I agree that the state law needs to be the law of the land and the state was right to stop local laws that attempt to override that law. I just think it is obvious that the state law is poorly conceived when it ignores the realities of range shooting negligence and ballistics. This was a .22 for pete's sake.

BTW, your analogy to crime-related shootings is irrelevant to this situation. I agree that criminals don't follow the law (duh) and I agree with the well known, completely legit argument that restricting gun ownership only affects law abiding citizens, the very people who need to defend themselves from the people who ignore the law. Apples and oranges, though. This is not about gun ownership and it has nothing to do with crime and criminals.
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