Neighbors are Furious After a Man Builds His Own Gun Range in His Front Yard. The Police? They Say He Isn’t Breaking the Law. [Video]

Yep, he has a Constitutional right to fire his gun on his property. But if there is a Homeowner’s Association, he has given them the right to stop him. I don’t see that mentioned here, but it is one thing to consider. I’m a very, very strong proponent of the Second Amendment. I always have been. Having said that, I think both sides are wrong here. I personally would not want someone to have a gun range in his yard in my neighborhood, unless said neighborhood had lots of land. You can’t predict when a shot could go awry or if a child might run into your yard for a ball at just the wrong moment. I would not want my children or grandchildren around it. It may be legal, but in this case, it doesn’t make it right or safe.


Image source: WFLA-TV

From TheBlaze:

One man’s plan to shoot a 9 mm gun in his own backyard began is now backfiring as neighbors claimed it’s not safe given how many children live nearby. But police say they can’t do anything to stop it because the man is merely exercising his Second Amendment right.

Joseph Carannate, 21, of St. Petersburg, Florida, built a gun range in his backyard merely for sport, but says had he known what a controversy it would cause, he would have never done it, WFLA-TV reported Sunday.

“I don’t want to hurt myself or any neighbors. I don’t want to hurt anybody. I just want to use this as my enjoyment,” Carannate told WFLA-TV.

But for his neighbors, Carannate’s word just isn’t good enough.

“I don’t know if this idiot is going to start popping off rounds,” said resident Patrick Leary.

Carannate has assured his neighbors that whenever he chooses to fire the gun he’ll notify them first, but even that isn’t sitting well with some.

“You heard him say, I’ll tell the neighbors when I’m getting ready to fire. What, do we gather our children and hide? Ridiculous. C’mon,” Leary said.

Kendra O’Connor, another parent, echoed Leary’s concerns.

“I don’t consider it responsible, I don’t consider it reasonable. He’s asking me to go inside my house, go to the other side of the house, as he’s informing me he’ll fire his weapon,” O’Connor told WFLA.

But as St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman Mike Puetz told TheBlaze on Monday, Carannate isn’t breaking any laws and doesn’t appear to have any criminal history, at least not locally. Puetz said the police are aware of the situation and is monitoring it closely, but that there is no expanded police presence near the home.

But residents who want the gun range gone still aren’t backing down. They’ve acquired the help of Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch, who agrees that Carannate’s gun range puts the neighborhood at risk.

“Even to the most pro-gun person, to have a gun range in the middle of a residential neighborhood doesn’t make any sense at all. I’m hoping we can get to some common ground and common sense,” Welch said.

I know many will disagree with me on this, but think about it… If you had children running around, would you want to knowingly take a chance that they could hit by a stray bullet? Is that responsible? I don’t think it is. I will say the first neighbor on the video is condescending and just outlandishly over dramatic. That doesn’t take away from the fact that this gun owner is not considering his neighbor’s concerns or rights here – just his own. That is wrong and dangerous for all involved. Gun rights include responsible gun and safety practices and that is not present in this case.

Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Terresa Monroe-Hamilton is an editor and writer for Right Wing News. She owns and blogs at NoisyRoom.net. She is a Constitutional Conservative and NoisyRoom focuses on political and national issues of interest to the American public. Terresa is the editor at Trevor Loudon's site, New Zeal - trevorloudon.com. She also does research at KeyWiki.org. You can email Terresa here. NoisyRoom can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.

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