[Ranb]

Bill 1508 recently had a hearing in the House Judiciary committee.
HB 1508 - 2011-12

This bill will protect rifle ranges mainly by stopping county governments from enacting new laws which can threaten existing rifle ranges.

I was at the hearing and had the opportunity to speak to the committee. The number of bill supporters far exceeded those at the hearing that are against it. I felt that the anti people came off at whiny, especially the guy who claimed he could feel the gunfire concussion from 1-2/3 miles away.

There is a chance that the part of the bill that subjects established shooting areas to only those laws that on the books at the time the range was established will be taken out as there were no laws regulating shooting areas in the 1920's.

Ranb

[mule_kicker]

Hey better stop it there before it spreads!

[cjleete]

Better stomp on that beast fast. I thought for such a populated area, western Washington was very shooter-friendly. I shot GSSF at Shelton a couple times, and was a guest of a friend at Kitsap County club range. There are some nice clubs up there, don't let encroachment ruin it like they did down here in Virginia Beach.

[Ranb]

Someone at the hearing claimed that Hawaii and Washington were the only two states that did not have some sort of law protecting shooting areas. I am not sure if this is true, but it is sad (for WA) if it is.

The WA legislature has taken quite a turn around on gun attitudes in the last ten years. Even Senator Kline has gone from "The 50 bmg ban is a good idea because they did it in CA" to "The Senate should show the silencer bill a lot of love". I am paraphrasing, but you should get the picture.

The key is voter participation. When I was calling legislators about putting the silencer bill on the calendar for a vote last year, one of the aides told me that it was getting more phone calls than any other bill except for the teen driver's license bill.

The local authorities are the biggest problem. The counties need to zone land around shooting areas as to prevent safety and noise issues before people build homes nearby. When Kitsap County threatens the club (on a regular basis), we rally people to go to the commissioner's meetings in the hundreds. That kind of presence gets reported in the local papers and gets noticed. When I was told that installing noise abatement structures was illegal, I called local reporters and one of the papers did a hit piece on the Prosecuting Attorney who made the claim. I also got an AG opinion that said the PA opinion was wrong so I was able to make my shooting box to reduce noise from 50 caliber rifles.

Ranb

[Ranb]

Too little too late. Kitsap County won the lawsuit against the KRRC. The range is shut down until we get a use permit and rifles >30 cal are banned.

Ranb

[Ranb]

The Club will remain closed for a while. Shooting range will remain closed » Kitsap Sun

Quote:      

Serko's previous ruling declared the shooting range a public nuisance, because of increased noise and because of the potential of stray bullets striking people and property in the neighboring community.

The County claimed during the trial that two bullets left the range and damaged private property since 1926. Their evidence was sketchy at best. This makes shooting at the KRRC one of the safest recreational activities we can participate in around here. Kitsap County exempts shooting areas from noise regulations during shooting hours. This means that noise complaints should have had no bearing on the Judge’s order.


The club is now about half the size is was a year ago, I think it may go under and the land transferred to the County. The next step could be to ask the appeals court to grant a stay of the judge's order pending a hearing on the appeal.
Ranb