Patrick Jones says he hasn't decided if he'll move forward with plans for a shooting range on land he owns in Shasta County, California after a local judge wrapped the project in red tape, but he does have a message for those who were trying to stop the range from being built.
“I am still going to shoot there,” Jones told the local paper, adding that he and friends “do a lot of shooting there."
Neighbors might not like it, but Jones says he "can shoot on private property, and friends can come over and shoot.”
Jones, who also owns the gun shop Jones' Fort in Redding, California, was given approval to build the range back in 2023, but last year a Shasta County judge ruled that Jones needed to conduct an extensive Environmental Impact Report before any earth could be moved.
Jones maintains that he already conducted an environmental review, and he's not sure he wants to lay out the $419,000 an EIR would cost given that the county's board of supervisors isn't as conservative and 2A-friendly as it was when his range was originally approved. Thanks to the lawsuit filed by neighbors, the supervisors would once again have to approve the range after an EIR is conducted, and Jones isn't convinced he'd be successful the second time around.
While Jones is looking at other potential properties for his proposed range, he's also making it clear that he and friends will be shooting on the parcel of land he planned on turning into a range.
“I tried to do it the right way and have it properly permitted,” he said of his proposed range.
Shasta County Assistant Director of Resource Management Lio Salazar said county code includes rules for firing guns but the rules do not generally address non-commercial recreational discharge of firearms on private property.
Firing a gun on non-commercial private property would be considered OK within the context of the county zoning code, similar to riding motorcycles or ATVs, Salazar said in an email to the Record Searchlight.
But the firing of guns on private property or riding motorcylces and ATVs "may be subject to general nuisance claims and/or applicable Shasta County Code and other regulations regarding the discharge of firearms, including but not limited to those cited in Shasta County Code, California Penal Code § 246.3, and California Fish and Game Code § 3004, none of which are generally within the enforcement jurisdiction of the Department of Resource Management," he said.
"Our office often receives complaints about property owners undertaking outdoor uses of property that some may find to be nuisance due to noise, dust, etc., including where guests of the property owner may be engaged in the activity as well. We receive many complaints about property owners using their property, often along with their guests, for motorcycle and ATV riding," Salazar added.
So long as Jones and his friends aren't shooting early in the morning or late at night, they shouldn't run into any issues.
I'm glad to see the gun store owner isn't letting the NIMBYs get the last word, even if the range doesn't come to fruition at its original location. I get that one of the benefits of living in a rural area is the peace and quiet, but another benefit is being able to shoot on your own property, provided you can do so safely.
If his neighbors are that bothered by the sound of shooting, they should lobby lawmakers in Sacramento to repeal California's stupid ban on suppressors. That ban may be undone by the courts one day, but repealing the statute would be much quicker and easier. or at least it would be if there wasn't an anti-gun supermajority in the state legislature. That law harms gun owners, of course, but it also has a negative impact on those rural residents who aren't fond of the sound of freedom coming from nearby properties. I'm pretty sure the NIMBYs of Shasta County are more likely to demand a ban on recreational shooting altogether, but I don't think they'll be able to completely silence gun owners like Jones.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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