Madison Co. Gun Ordinance Defeated

[lukem]

A Madison County official says he won't resubmit a proposed firearms ordinance that would have kept county residents from firing a gun within 300 feet of a home.

About 100 residents packed a recent meeting to protest the first proposal that was defeated on a 4-1 vote. Commissioner Mike Youngblood says he won't resubmit his proposal.

Youngblood says he introduced it after two groups in his district complained about people shooting close to their homes.

Opponents backed by the National Rifle Association say the law would not only violate the Second Amendment but also the rights of property owners.

One resident, Gary Venable, says gun control laws are handled by the state of Georgia and not the county.

Source: Fort Mill Times

[upanchor]

Here in Vermont a man was killed sitting in his living room two months ago. Some guys were practicing with their deer rifles about half a mile away (with NO backstop!) and one of their bullets killed the guy. So the town of Essex Junction is going through the same discussion, AFTER a death...

upanchor

[tattedupboy]

I may be in the minority here, but I think that the ordinance was a good idea. I wouldn't want people to legally fire guns that close to my home.

[gpbarth]

Unless you live out in the country, I think it's just plain stupid to discharge any firearm in a populated area. Where I live, you can be arrested for shooting anything within the city limits. The only exceptions are at a gun range (And there's one 2 blocks from my house - I'm not at all worried about all the firing I hear on week-ends). I don't have any problems with not being allowed to fire my XD-40 in my back yard, although I will have no problems discharging it in the direction of anyone who thinks they can forcibly break into my home.

Now in areas like Vermont, where there is hunting going on, it's just common sense not to discharge a weapon in the vicinity of a residence, and I think that any law specifying a distance (like 300') isn't a real restriction.

I belong to the NRA, and I'd like to think that the protest they submitted had more substance than just a simple 2nd Amendment argument. I'll bet the actual law proposal was a lot more restrictive than what was posted.

[Glockster20]

I wouldn't want anybody shooting near my house.... especially with all of the incompetents running around with guns. Case in point, the above post regarding the two irresponsible hunters practicing in Vermont! Idiots!!! Remember one of the most important rules in firearm safety??? "Know what is beyond your target"!!! I believe that (or a variation of) is written in every manual that comes with each firearm.

[jjohn7077]

New York law prohibits discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a building without permission of the owner/occupant of that building. I don't have a problem with this. It has never inconvenienced me in any way and, in a few instances, had mde me feel safe.

[Red Hat]

I shoot out my back door all the time. No problem here. 41 acres helps though!

BTW, Luke this belongs in the Georgia forum not SC.

[[email protected]]

I was going to say.... very few homes in S.C. are within 300 ft of anybody shooting in Georgia... there's a pretty wide river between.

[wuzfuz]

In Arizona, a state that has a pre-emption law that only the state can pass any gun law, it is illegal to discharge a firearm within a quarter mile of a residence except in the case of self-defense. I once had to use the PA on my patrol car to tell shooters to clear their weapons and return to their vehicle, where I checked them out and advised them of the law. They didn't realize they were so close to a farm house.

[tattedupboy]

I think that resubmitting the ordinance would be a good idea. Firing that close to homes is not a good idea, period.