On February 25th, the Maine State and Local Government Committee will hold a hearing on Legislative Document 489, which would allow noise ordinances to be used to shut down local shooting ranges. Please contact members of the State and Local Government Committee and urge them to OPPOSE LD 489. Click here to contact members of the committee.
Currently, noise ordinances do not apply to shooting sport ranges under Maine Law. This legislation, sponsored by Senator Justin Chenette (D-31), would endanger shooting sport ranges, even if they operate safely and are otherwise in full compliance with the law.
Municipalities could use these ordinances to effectively shut down the ranges with costly renovations, unreasonable court fees, hiatus, or even closure of operations. These ranges allow law-abiding individuals to practice their shooting skills in a safe and responsible environment and should not be regulated out of existence.
Again, please click here to contact members of the State and Local Government Committee and urge them to OPPOSE LD 489. If you are able to attend the hearing on February 25th, it will take place in Room 214 of the Cross Office Building, beginning at 9:00AM.
This article originally appeared at nraila.org and is reprinted here with permission.
 would result in gun ranges in Maine being forced to close due to new noise ordinances.){kind=link}
“Nobody is coming to take your guns, we will just make it impossible to shoot anywhere.”
There are quite a few ranges that are getting screwed over by people attacking them for noise ordinances. The same thing happens to drag strips and race tracks. They build the ranges and tracks outside of town, many of them decades prior. Developers move in around them and build a bunch of houses. Morons move into the houses without doing any research on the area and then cry and complain until they get shut down because of the noise.
Let’s face it people these Jack!$&% that are in office won’t be happy until the law abiding citizen can’t own a weapon but every crook will have them. This is just a rerun of what Hitler and a few other nuts did to so we can’t own anything and they can keep screwing us over
Retaliate against the home owners by placing A NOISE LIEN against their property if they don’t back off! This will give them a wake up call. Play their game; sue their socks off with litigation after litigation.
Apparently ALL DumboRats are stupid and ignorant.. Amazing.
Same as people that move close to air ports then bitch about the noise.
What about u democrats that shoot I know there’s a lot because I served with a lot so are they going to vote for this or agenst.If it passes hunting will also be attacker.Does someone need to start a Melissa company to protect the citizens from the democrats.
If they are really concerned about noise (and not trying to marginalize Americans who embrace their 2A civil rights), they should be calling for sound suppressors to be legalized nationally.
I predict that if suppressors are made legal, the switch to all firearms must have them will soon follow. Sport shooting will never be the same.
This is how it goes; death by a thousand cuts. We have no constitutionally protected right to shooting galleries, or building one of our own on our property/underneath our house. So, one day we wake up to find there are no public spaces, no commercial spaces where we can practice our craft. Well, accept for maybe the rural areas (counties) that do not prohibit building berms or buildings for the purpose of testing and practicing firearm skills. And and so on. Then one day, we find that we, indeed, have a constitutionally protected right to firearms in our homes, but nowhere else. All without the bother of federal legislation, or a constitutional amendment.
So how, exactly, does this lower crime/violence and keep firearms out of the hands of prohibited persons? I digress.
Suppressors should be able to be rented at gun ranges…
“Suppressors should be able to be rented at gun ranges…”
Willing to pay for the refurb after each session?
Because they think criminals train at public gun ranges and buy their guns retail.
They tried using the “system” to restrict or close ranges in New South Wales. The appointed inspector would use every trick possible. He would see a range restricted to 7.62 and would ban the use of anything “more powerful” such as .303 British, 7.65, 8mm, etc.
Another trick would be to overlay a safety template over a map and rule a range unsafe if anything was in the template. Hills, berms, and safety baffles were completely ignored. This was used to close many ranges in rural and regional areas.
After many appeals and complaints, the inspector was reassigned and the ranges were allowed to continue to operate.
Not all firearms can take suppressors and suppressors change the POI noticeably on rifles, which is an issue if you’re trying to zero or practice with a hunting or competition rifle. For outdoor ranges, you can build walls and baffles to trap noise and/or have people shoot rifles through tunnels like stacked tires.
Local governments need to not let them build homes near established gun ranges, every thing is fine till some anti gun nut moves close, it happened where I live, A trap & skeet range had Ben in place for 50yrs, then the city got greedy for housing to bolster their tax base, guess what , after people started moving in there was a big cry for shutting down the tang for noise & so called safety reasons,,, our own worst enemy is ourselves.
“[email protected]”
Long ago, I lived in Colorado Springs, CO. I learned a valuable lesson about property. One thing was to never buy a home near open land; a 7-11 would soon be the only view out your front window. Never believe you have control over your building/home once you own it (homeowner nazis control neighborhoods with the authority of state law). And foremost, developers control zoning commissions and city councils.
The one attempt I witnessed where the zoning board was resisting new development was on the then far north of the city, where a rather upscale nest of homes was hidden behind a stand of beautiful pine and fir trees. The developer bought the treed property and wanted to put a large apartment complex on the acreage holding the trees. After about 6mos of contesting the local homeowners (and HOA), and the city, the developer clear cut all the trees, leaving bare dirt as the feature at the gateway to the upscale neighborhood. With the trees gone, there was no reason to “preserve” simple dirt, and the developer installed the sprawling multi-family development. That was then, and the apartments are probably gone now, as well. Developer won, again.
You would be surprised how many Developers have friends or family in local office, or are in office themselves voting on their own proposals.
Well, that would shut down any car racing places, airports, trucking terminals, dog kennels, schools, farms, concerts. Wow, we could ban all sorts of things under this law. Have a noisy neighbor? Ban them.
We all know….it’s not about the noise.
Environmentalists closed down a large percentage of America’s factories, mines and infrastructure – I believe they were used by NWO business types to do exactly that and turn the US into a 3rd world country. While Trump may not be Teddy R, I hope and pray he can get some of this crap turned around in our country.
(This is not directed at anyone, just a continued thought inspired by your post.)
When there is an effective wall at the southern border, just imagine how hard it will be to leave this turned-3rd-world country. Not to mention, imagine trying to smuggle in supplies needed by the militia to secure liberty. I am no Trump hater but I cannot support border walls as they also can work in the future to suppress a nation’s people. North Korea’s DMZ, the Berlin Wall, and the walls around the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland during WWII come to mind.
To the person from Ohio.
In regards to the wall that Trump wants to build, it is to also stop the loss of
jobs in the South, due to the fact that the immigrants coming across the border
will work the hard labor jobs for less money. I have even found where 3 men will work
a one man job, so that when one tires, and slows the next one takes his place, behind the shovel, or sledge hammer. If you lived in the South for very long, you might start to wonder if English is our national language. Many of the products in the stores now are marked with signs in English and Spanish, as well as the signs above the isles. If I lived in France, or Spain. I would learn to speak the language, and not expect everyone to learn English for the minorities benefit. We need that wall if only to send the message Stay out, and leave us the F@#$ Alone
I appreciate your situation, Allen. I am from a Southern family and have observed the truth of what you have written. However, it doesn’t really address my comment.
Supporting a border wall is giving up future liberty for the perception of immediate security. A wall would be very effective at slowing people from coming across the border. At the same time, it would give current and future government the strongest ability to control the people in this country. We already have RealID. We already have NSA spying on literally everyone. The military has now had decades of real time, hands on domestic control of civilian populations in other countries. Add in strict gun control and infringement on the exercise of the unalienable individual right to free speech and this is a prime recipe for a totalitarian government. Most of us schmucks won’t be able to leave. The militia won’t be able to smuggle in those things protected by the Second Amendment and necessary to the security of a free State. It’s the founders’ worst nightmare on steroids.
What you want to trade for job security is liberty. With respect, that would be myopic and defy common sense.
It’s not just ranges. Before retiring I worked a rural county. Every fall we would receive complaints about people shooting from people who had moved here from the city during the summer. An example. Woman complains of lots of shooting behind her house. It’s opening day of dove season. A fine southern tradition. I arrive. It’s definitely a hot field. Wishing I was off. I ask the complainant if she owns the land where the shoot is happening. She does not. Me, “Well, it’s opening day of dove season. I’m sure those men have hunting licenses and permission to hunt there.” (I knew them all, but didn’t tell her that. I liked to have a little fun when I could.) Her reply, “Well, make them stop!” I tried not to laugh. Telling Bo Bo to stop shooting dove on opening day would be like telling the tide not to change. I asked where she was from. Miami. Asked when she moved here. Last July. I explained that one season or another would be open for the next eight months in North Florida. Get used to the gunfire. I did explain she would have four weeks of peace and quiet during bow season. After that, never mind the shotguns, wait until you hear the centerfire rifles. Drove away with a smile.
Like that story! Hope she changed her attitude. Any follow-up?
Not another peep from her. I did notice there was a new tenant a few months later. That scenario played out multiple times every fall.
I used to get calls all the time when I was in extension asking how to get people to stop cutting timber.
They wouldmth3n explain that they bought the property to build a house because of the view (or seclusion).
I would then explain that timber is a crop and it was time to harvest. Their reply was usually “we had ordinances against cutting stress in Miami/naples/sarasota/etc.”.
I would then tell them our county had no such ordinances and they should buy all the property they wanted to control. They would then say “well, that’s not right” and hang up.
Importation of nanny state thinking is all too common.
Amen! If Trump wants to build a wall I suggest he begin with one on the Mason-Dixon Line.
First they came for the ranges because they were loud. Then they called for common sense MANDATORY TRAINING, but there was no place left to train.
“First they came for the ranges because they were loud. Then they called for common sense MANDATORY TRAINING, but there was no place left to train.”
Not ironic, as in predictable unintended consequence; actually a design feature.
Sounds like Chicago. After Moore v. Madigan brought “shall issue” ccw to Illinois (which includes a training component), Tiny Dancer did all he could to prevent shooting ranges opening within city limits (there were none at the time, not surprising after Chicgo’s 20+ year handgun ban). The only areas where zoning allowed a range were nasty, dirty, and possibly dangerous industrial areas. Fortunately, the Court of Appeal saw through his attempts to put road blocks i the way of concealed carry in the City.
Reminds me of something I heard about back when I lived around San Francisco and rode a motorcycle.
The Sears Point track (now Sonoma Raceway) is a bona fide haunted raceway, with ghosts of riders past blazing along at insane speeds on the weekend days when there were no events scheduled. That was the only explanation for the noise complaints directed at the track, even on days when there was nobody on it…
“That was the only explanation for the noise complaints directed at the track, even on days when there was nobody on it…”
Perfect sentence to segue into a “There I Was” tale, only this one is no—t.
Was once involved in a communications continuity test for a massive phased array radar (no moving parts) used to detect missile attacks of the coast of Cape Cod. The test was announced to the local authorities so that certain external security could be established because of the likelihood of anti-war protesters and environmentalists.
On the day the test was to begin, there were several dozen protester rallying in front of the reservation where the radar was located. Of course, the major complaint was that the energy from the radar would fry everything within 50 miles of the radar. As the morning wore on, a handful of protestors reported various stages of sickness, disorientation, loss of vision, and a few others. EMT trucks were on-site, as well as news outlets to record everything. Once we were informed that all the protesters had been dispersed, and that the news cameras were gone, we initiated the actual test of the radar and communications. No further interest from the protesters and news outlets.
In fairness you really don’t want to stand directly in front of a high power radar … when it’s on.
I also recall a story from the Stanford accelerator that runs under 280. Some years back a pregnant woman called the control room to complain that that evil thing was hurting her baby. The baby kicked, she said, every time they turned it on.
The operator asked how often the baby was kicking. Every two or three minutes, she said.
“Ma’am, our machine pulses 120 times per second. You’re in labor.”
“In fairness you really don’t want to stand directly in front of a high power radar … when it’s on. ”
True, but we wouldn’t have been able to situate the concrete building hosting the electronics if there was any risk to the public, or the environment. Moving beams of radar energy are not the hot dog fryer you can get when you stop the rotation and maintain the beam for a period of time. Same with a phased array radar, where the beams are activated individually, creating an energy “sweep”. Granted, climbing aboard the face of an active phased array radar would be a quick moment of adventure; maybe a last moment.
Sorry about that Mainers. Complain to your “representatives” if you think it will do any good.
As for me, I just came in from sighting in a new scope on my .41 mag noise maker in my backyard here in MS. Gotta get ready for next deer season when I’m sitting on my porch waiting for Bambi to make an appearance. Which reminds me, I need to get in some SD pistol practice this month also. 🙂
This should be shoved in their faces as the filthy, subhuman Liberal Terrorists™️ are always crying about “gun safety”, yet are going to shut down the places we’re folks can become more proficient. It’s time for “winner take all, once and for all.”
Their definition of gun safety does not include “well-trained” it is more focused on “unloaded, locked up, possibly disassembled and never fired”.
My wife told a friend of her’s that I go to the range about once a week and the friend said something to the effect of, “I know your husband believes he has a right to guns but why does he need to shoot them so much?”
Not only can you not fix stupid, you can’t explain to a stupid person.
Fortunately, these dopes fail to understand that Maine is one giant shooting range. And BTW New Yorkers – stay the F-out.
We’re building a wall.
Suppressors.
About 15 years ago we heard that some one had installed a double wide about 1,500 yards past the berm behind our 300 yard butts at our local range and was complaining about the noise and extreme danger to her and her 6 kids. We responded that the berm behind the 300 yard Butts was 20 feet high and that a mature hardwood forest was behind that in addition we pointed out that we had strict rules about how high target frames could be for that range… We got a notice that she was coming to a town selectman meeting to _Prove_ the horridness of the danger from our shooting… a large number of the members came to the meeting to respond to her. She got up and said she was there to prove the huge danger to her and her kids our club range was. She said she had bullets from her yard that came from our range, and then plunked down several 30-30 unfired cartridges on the table in front of the selectmen. The room erupted with laughter and the topic has not come up again with our club…. We close the club fro several weeks each year for the exclusive use of the local Police and Sherifs departments training and qualification needs and I don’t think that hurts our standing with the local government.
“We close the club fro several weeks each year for the exclusive use of the local Police and Sherifs departments training and qualification needs and I don’t think that hurts our standing with the local government.”
Make some campaign contributions to anti-gun politicians and y’all will be golden. Just ask Benchmade…
Don’t fret. Most likely those cops will come for your guns last because they know you will be less likely to defend yourselves against them; being buddies and all.
Live near the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, VA. Occasionally during the week one hears mortar, demolitions and machine gun fire. This is even more pronounced during the fall and winter after the trees drop their leaves. The Base regularly publishes a weekly list of when these firing events will occur and at which Ranges.
Had a new neighbor move in and started whining about this “noise pollution” to me. I replied what you are hearing is the “Sound of Freedom”. She said: “What does that mean?” I replied: “That’s brand new Second Lieutenants learning their trade”. She had no idea that I was a retired Marine as I further informed her that the Base had been her far longer than we had both been alive. Don’t like it – move! She doesn’t complain to me anymore.
Interestingly enough her husband was the Acting Director of BATFE.
We have the same thing here in central Texas. It’s called Ft. Hood. When the tanks take to the practice they can be heard as far as 40 miles away. How do I know? That’s approximately how far my house is from the practice range. I have heard them several times since I moved here in ’95. Mostly during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, then later when we kicked Saddam out. Not much going on right now, but I’m sure that will change. I never worried about it much anyway.
Another big noise maker in this area is Space-X, formerly Rocketdyne. I can hear and FEEL the rumble when they test one of their solid fuel booster motors and I’m only about 30 miles from them.
Phil in TX
I grew up several miles from NASA Plum Brook in Northern Ohio. I would fall asleep to the sound of Saturn V rocket engines being tested. It was a glorious sound at the beginning of the Space Age.
I get a kick out of people who buy or build near shooting ranges, highways, or any other noisy entity then complain about the noise hole demanding a noise wall.
We used to ignore these people now they get what they bitch for.
Its a flipping tactic. Buy in a noisy place for 100k then bitch and moan to all your statist friends until they elect a bunch of statists who impose their will on your chosen enemy then sell for 250k.
Even the most hippy dippy tree hugging climate change zealot the left has is really just trying to get fame, fortune or both. Failing that at least tear down somebody or something they hate.
Morons let TDS get a bunch of fascists elected to state gov in NH and ME and now gun owners have to pay the price.
18 months, my friend. 18 months & these ‘tards will have squandered whatever meager political capital they had.
Gotta say that the next Civil War is rapidly approaching. What the “Dummycrats” don’t realize is that at least 80% of the military will be on our side against them.
Of course its a DemocRat. What is wrong with them and not understanding what our country is and how it came to be BECAUSE OF GUNS! If our forefathers didn’t have guns, where would we be?
Idiots.
Don’t complain, write you’re congressman or state officials accordingly support the GOA , and NRA
Those triggered snowflakes should check out the East side of Redmond Oregon. A few weeks ago I was out mountain biking and heard actual machine gun fire. Being a savvy gun owner I knew it coming from the Biak Training Area and my reaction is, oh so that’s what it really sounds like. Then again I’m innured to gunfire since several trail systems are in areas open to shooting. Fortunately the local range is surrounded BLM land so it’s NIMBY proof and the worst we get is the occasional idiot crossing the ridgeline that forms the long rang backstop.
We do not have any public ranges in Illinois. You have to pay to shoot somewhere or live in a rural area with lots of land. What a screwed up state Illinois is.
Fight em tooth and nail folks. This is the latest scam being attempted all over the country. Time to let em know it ain’t happening!
Typical statist thinking
What I don’t like is forbidden!
They voted down the use of suppressors to fight noise pollution but close ranges because of too much noise. Go figure??
In order to encourage the safe usage of guns lets shut down the gun ranges so gun owners have no place to practice. Yep makes perfect sense.
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