St. Pete man angers neighbors with gun range in yard

"Don't be THAT guy."

They may not be able to get him on a gun charge because of pre-emption, but I'm sure there's a noise ordinance ......
 
To me this is just a common sense issue.
Common sense (to me) says you would never willingly discharge a gun in a location where a bullet could penetrate a backstop, be deflected or the shooter inadvertently miss the backstop.
I appreciate it is his right to place a range in his yard but common sense just screams this is a bad idea on soooooo many levels.
One stray bullet and someone is hit and his life as he knows it is over.
If common sense was common, everyone would have it!
I can’t see this ending well for anyone.
 
To me this is just a common sense issue.
Common sense (to me) says you would never willingly discharge a gun in a location where a bullet could penetrate a backstop, be deflected or the shooter inadvertently miss the backstop.
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Even commercial outdoor gun range back stops get missed time to time, inadvertently. There is virtually no idiot proof backstop.
 
Tom Servo said:
...I'm surprised there aren't local ordnances against this. Most suburban areas have laws against discharging firearms on property, except under certain conditions.
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Surprisingly, as I read them, the State of FL's state preemption statutes (F.S. 790.25 and 790.33) do NOT explicitly give municipalities the general power to prohibit the discharge of firearms within city limits.

790.25 does say this (my emphasis underlined):
(3) LAWFUL USES.—The provisions of ss. 790.053 and 790.06 do not apply in the following instances, and, despite such sections, it is lawful for the following persons to own, possess, and lawfully use firearms and other weapons, ammunition, and supplies for lawful purposes:
...
(j) A person firing weapons for testing or target practice under safe conditions and in a safe place not prohibited by law or going to or from such place;
(k) A person firing weapons in a safe and secure indoor range for testing and target practice;
...
(n) A person possessing arms at his or her home or place of business;
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IOW the discharge of firearms on private property is allowed by default provided it is done "under safe conditions and in a safe place". Furthermore, indoor ranges have explicit legal protection provided they are "safe and secure", but outdoor ranges implicitly do not.

Although I'm not an expert in FL municipal law by any stretch, I surmise that in order to stop Mr. Carannate from using his backyard range, the city would have to first establish reasonable and enforceable design and construction standards for outdoor ranges, giving them the statutory authority to declare his range unsafe. However, even if the city were to pass such a law tomorrow, his range is preexisting and thus could potentially be grandfathered as a lawful non-conforming use!
 
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Legal or not, allowed or not, just a bad idea. I would be very surprised if his insurance will continue to cover him once they get wind of this story.
 
Even commercial outdoor gun range back stops get missed time to time, inadvertently. There is virtually no idiot proof backstop.
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Agreed, but those ranges tend to be in areas where a stray bullet will not inflict damage or injury.
Not to say it can't happen because it has happened here but this guy is in a residential neighborhood.
 
Why is there a photo of an indoor gun range when the story is about someone shooting in their yard? Where is the picture of the backstop? Am I missing something here - I'm not getting the punch line???:confused:

Ok, I see someone else posted a picture of his "back-stop". HOLY CRAP, I'd be angry too!!!
 
One doesn't need to break any law to be sued in civil court. Damage to the enjoyment and value of my property, as I fear being struck by a stray bullet and am startled by the sudden gun shots when I reside in my own property. I will bring him to court for that, together with other neighbors.

-TL
 
Quote:
To me this is just a common sense issue.
Common sense (to me) says you would never willingly discharge a gun in a location where a bullet could penetrate a backstop, be deflected or the shooter inadvertently miss the backstop.

Even commercial outdoor gun range back stops get missed time to time, inadvertently. There is virtually no idiot proof backstop.
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And clearly the idiot quotient is high in this circumstance.
 
I'm surprised this is even legal in St. Pete but it probably won't be for long. Pinellas county is the most densely populated county in Florida.

In Hillsborough county (Tampa area), the next county over, one outdoor range had to shut down because of encroaching residential development. Another outdoor range in an old phosphate mine, and outside of residential areas, was shut down because of complaints of stray bullets.

If Hillsborough county can shut down a range its only a matter of time before Pinellas county can stop someone from shooting in their backyard in a residential area. It looks like this guy is doing his part in making that happen.
 
One of the neighbors blogged about the range
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/...t-Feet-From-My-Neighbors-Kids-Bedroom-Window#

So Florida law is cool with this. The cops are not cool with this, but tell me there's nothing they can do. The city attorney says he can do nothing. The NRA threatens any town that dares try to pass an ordinance against this. And best yet, crazy governor Scott made certain in 2011 that any public official trying to pass a local ordinance or otherwise prevent this would be removed, fined $5,000 and barred from using public resources to defend him/herself.
http://tallahasseeo.com/2014/02/02/...s-that-violate-your-2nd-amendment-gun-rights/
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And from the second link.
In 2005, when Charlie Crist was attorney general, he wrote a letter to Sheriff Roy Raymond of Indian River County that said: “It is well settled that absent a general law stating otherwise, local governments have no authority to regulate firearms in any manner.”
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Backyard range has been voluntarily shut down when Shooter's World offered him a one year range membership worth $500 if he dismantled his backstop.
They said they did it for the safety of the community.

http://www.wtsp.com/
 
candr44 said:
...In Hillsborough county (Tampa area), the next county over, one outdoor range had to shut down because of encroaching residential development. Another outdoor range in an old phosphate mine, and outside of residential areas, was shut down because of complaints of stray bullets.

If Hillsborough county can shut down a range its only a matter of time before Pinellas county can stop someone from shooting in their backyard in a residential area. It looks like this guy is doing his part in making that happen. ...
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Buzzcook said:
One of the neighbors blogged about the range
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/...t-Feet-From-My-Neighbors-Kids-Bedroom-Window#

So Florida law is cool with this. The cops are not cool with this, but tell me there's nothing they can do. The city attorney says he can do nothing....
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As Microgunner posted, it looks like the matter is resolved, at least for now. And I'm not too surprised that local authorities beleive their hands to be tied.

But the guys "range" certainly looked to be unsafe, and his neighbors could have considered suing for an injunction to abate a private nuisance:
A private nuisance is an interference with a person's enjoyment and use of his land. The law recognizes that landowners, or those in rightful possession of land, have the right to the unimpaired condition of the property and to reasonable comfort and convenience in its occupation.

Examples of private nuisances abound. Nuisances that interfere with the physical condition of the land include vibration or blasting that damages a house; destruction of crops; raising of a water table; or the pollution of soil, a stream, or an underground water supply. Examples of nuisances interfering with the comfort, convenience, or health of an occupant are foul odors, noxious gases, smoke, dust, loud noises, excessive light, or high temperatures. Moreover, a nuisance may also disturb an occupant's mental tranquility, such as a neighbor who keeps a vicious dog, even though an injury is only threatened and has not actually occurred...
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The applicable standard in Florida appears to be described in Bechhold v. Mariner Properties, Inc., 576 So.2d 921 (Fla.App. 2 Dist., 1991), at 923:
...In Florida, private nuisance is subject to an objective standard which is somewhat comparable to the objective standard used in negligence: "The test to be applied is the effect of the condition complained of on ordinary persons with a reasonable disposition in ordinary health and possessing the average and normal sensibilities." Beckman v. Marshall, 85 So.2d 552, 555 (Fla.1956).

The law of private nuisance is a law of degree; it generally turns on the factual question whether the use to which the property is put is a reasonable use under the circumstances, and whether there is "an appreciable, substantial tangible injury resulting in actual, material, physical discomfort, and not merely a tendency to injure."....
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It can't be a forgone conclusion that Carannate's "range" would have met the applicable Florida standard for a private nuisance, but I think his neighbors would have had a good chance at getting a court to order him to stop using it and/or tear it down.
 
I find it hard to be believe he can even own weapons if he has prior convictions of assault and convictions for possession of controlled substances such as cocaine and pharmaceuticals as cited in the neighbor's blog.
 
Microgunner said:
Backyard range has been voluntarily shut down when Shooter's World offered him a one year range membership worth $500 if he dismantled his backstop.
They said they did it for the safety of the community.

http://www.wtsp.com/
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Bravo for Shooter's World. If I'm ever in that area, I know where I'm going shopping.
 
I find it hard to be believe he can even own weapons if he has prior convictions of assault and convictions for possession of controlled substances such as cocaine and pharmaceuticals as cited in the neighbor's blog.
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I think he was at his dads house and it is his father with the legal issues.

Bravo for Shooter's World. If I'm ever in that area, I know where I'm going shopping
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X2.
 
stagpanther said:
I find it hard to be believe he can even own weapons if he has prior convictions of assault and convictions for possession of controlled substances such as cocaine and pharmaceuticals as cited in the neighbor's blog.
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Nothing was said in the blog about convictions; it mentions arrests and charges filed. Innocent until proven guilty, y'know.

I hope Shooter's World gets some good press and some new customers out of this. They deserve to.
 
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