That particular East End New Year’s Eve tradition of shooting off what you’ve got turns out to be legal:
But shooting a gun on your own property, just for the heck of it? That’s OK. At least, for now. Richmond’s laws don’t prohibit discharging a firearm on private property, Councilman Charles Samuels told residents of his north-central 2nd District last week.
41 comments
That’s incorrect.
Please elaborate, Runcible.
http://www.oregonhill.net/2011/07/24/gun-safety-training/
Code of Virginia
@Runcilble – Read through to the linked article, that law is referenced.
Discharging a firearm in an urban area is inherently risky. Doing so without a very good reason (defending against an imminent threat) or extensive preparation (construction of a secure indoor range) is reckless.
I am totally going to practice in my back yard now. I just assumed it was illegal but now that I know it’s not…
Seriously, Runcible, a secure indoor range is the only place you shoot? Cause my time in the military was not spent training on secure indoor ranges, many were outside slipshod affairs. I feel pretty sure I could discharge a firearm in my yard and it would not be risky at all nor would it be reckless. And that is how you can be sure to defend against an imminent threat-practice.
@All Bark – I sometimes shoot outdoors at a friend’s house in Madison County, on a 10-acre plot with a hill for a backstop.
Shooting discipline requires awareness not just of your target but what’s behind your target, and in urban residential zones it is effectively impossible to shoot at anything without also pointing the weapon in the direction of a residence. In several years of shooting I have had one accidental discharge, but fortunately I was following good range discipline and the pistol was pointed down range. (The round struck a wall at an oblique angle and wound up striking the backstop.) “Down range” is acceptable in a controlled environment, but it is NOT acceptable in a backyard, where any accidental discharge above the backstop could kill someone as much as a half mile away.
If I were a Richmond police office called to investigate a complaint and found someone target shooting in his backyard, I’d tell him to stop. If he refused or repeated the behavior I’d arrest him for reckless handling of firearms.
@scott, air guns fall under different regulations than firearms
@all bank, runcible states in an URBAN ENVIRONMENT, big difference between shooting out in a field in the country and in your acre back yard.
to all, while it is not illegal to discharge a firearm on private property, it is very hard to justify that it is not endangering to others if you are in city limits short of building a fully baffled range in a basement. plus unless you have a suppressor you will get hit with disturbing the peace… and even with a suppressor you could get hit with it depending on how far away your neighbors are.
It’s dangerous and idiotic to fire a gun in an urban area.
Did legality ever matter in the East End?
Nothing like a Church Hill New Years Eve when folks sit on their front porch and shoot at the porch ceiling.
I think the key thing to remember before everyone gets all bent out of shape is that in order to be legal, the entire act should stay on your property. That means if you can shoot a gun, the bullet and the sound all stay within your property you should have no issues. NYE shooting around here generally doesn’t fit more than one of those criteria. Therefore, disturbing the peace or reckless use of firearms charges still apply.
What ever happened to fireworks being used for celebration? I would rather take my chances with a stray bottle rocket than a bullet at terminal velocity.
I would love to speak with members of the community about this topic. Trying to put a story together for tonight’s evening news. Please shoot me an email at vrohrmoser@wric.com.
Veronica, 8News
Alex is right. Discharging a weapon in the air is illegal on at least two counts – 1) it’s reckless, and 2) the round would leave the property and likely also cross a public right-of-way.
This opens up some options I didn’t know I had for dealing with stray cats that pass through my yard. Just kidding… that is until I get woken up again at 3 AM by their mating noises.
@Anon – If you’re bothered by cat mating noises, the Richmond SPCA on Hermitage offers free spay and neutering for feral cats, as well as a free rabies shot. I’ve gotten 9 fixed in my neighborhood alone. No more mating noises, a lot less cat fights, and many of the cats even become friendly enough to adopt after being fixed. Let me know if you want help, I have a humane cat trap you could borrow.
Don’t worry, I know you were joking about shooting cats 😉 To follow-up with the rest of the convo though, I am against shooting guns on your property in an urban environment. I agree with the above posters – it’s just unnecessary, and too much potential for a stray bullet to hit someone or something.
I would think discharging a firearm within city limits would be illegal due to the various risk factors. Misfires, ricochet, and of course what goes up must come down (slugs).
IF U PAY YOUR MONEY TO LIVE ON YOUR PROPERTY U SHUD B ABLE TO DO AS U PLEASE
@#21 LOVE-
What if you pay your money to live on your property, and what you want is to be able to sit by your living room window, without worrying that your idiot neighbors are going to accidentally shoot you?
ALL I SAYIN IS- U SHUD B BE ABLE 2 DO DAT 2, IF U WANT
LOVE… rights to bear arms is one thing but to be an idiot and shoot a gun in city limits among houses is moronic. And like I said, people have a habit of shooting guns in the air and I have seen cars and roofs of houses damaged by those slugs falling back to the ground. What if one hits someone in the head… who is responsible then? Can you say for certain that slug will fall back down onto your own property when it is nearly a mile in the air?
So I should use my atlatl more is basically what this boils down to.
And #18, Rachel is right, totally spay and neuter those cats for crying out loud! Its free, look here’s the number:804-521-1310
and the website:
http://www.richmondspca.org/page.aspx?pid=554
Who says I have to shoot up? Can I discharge into the ground? If not, why?
I remember reading about a death not too long ago… http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/world/6641521/boy-killed-in-church-by-falling-bullet/
Christo, it seems to be that most shots around these here parts are celebratory wild west style shots in the air or Compton style drive bys and that’s basically what people are freaked out by, that and the noise (see: atlatl).
So I would think that if I was in my yard and shot into the ground, say in the pursuit of vermin like a marmot, (rabies vector) presumably there should be no legal issue with that.
@Christo – So your idea of improving safety is to discharge the gun in the direction of your feet?
@27 – shooting in the ground covers two of the three criteria for being legal. The entire shot will be contained within your property so nobody else really has anything to say about that part. Now you just need to keep the noise down and you’ll be set.
@Alex – No. Shooting at the ground is no better than shooting in the air. If there’s a rock or other solid obstruction of any size in the soil it will change the direction of the round, potentially ‘skipping’ it back out of the ground. And then there’s the little problem of Richmond having buried utility lines, including natural gas.
It is very risky to discharge a round outdoors in a populated urban residential area, 100% of the time, and it is reckless to do so for a casual reason. When you are target shooting outdoors, you need to know where ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE AREA are located, and they ALL need to be at least 90 degrees away from where you’re aiming. That rules out any discharge in a populated urban area.
Its illegal to intestinaly discharge any fire are with in 300 calomeater of a building…dont quot me on the distance
#31, what’s a calomeater? Sounds like a way to measure the calories in a piece of meat, esp. if it’s intestines you are talking about (“intestinaly discharge”).
Although I guess if you shoot someone in the intestines, that’s kinda dangerous too…
Feel free to shoot a BB gun in your backyard, anything more and you’re asking for trouble
I’m sorry, I understand the importance of law but what’s this world coming to when you can’t fire a weapon you purchased with money you earned on property you purchased with money you earned in a “free country”? With that being said, anyone with a hint of common sense knows whether it’s safe or not to shoot your gun. Obviously an apartment complex in the middle of a city would be pretty dumb. If you have land that would allow you to safely shoot with out the possibility of hitting someone or their property, not only should it be legal, it should be your right.
I have an idea. If you are out in your yard in the country, just try to be respectful of neighbors and pay strict attention to local and state laws. Neighbors respecting each other is the best way to live.
Some of the ideals in the coments are just plain stupid
You don’t aim at your feet when you shoot at the ground
I shoot at the ground on new year’s eve and as for the people that might get hit by the one’s that shoot in the air the safe thing to keep from getting hit by a bullet stay inside when it’s going on
The first safety of any fire arm used any place is between your ears. I feel confident to know when and where I can discharge anything from a sling shot to a BB gun to a shot gun to a high powered rifle. If that confidence is compromised by any situation except security, the weapon stays in the case. Know your target, know what is beyond it and remember the safety between your ears.
@Dave- Nice I like that if more people would do what you said, this world would be a better place.
That is how I try to be 99.9% of the time.
I live in the country with a neighbors that drinks and shoot of his porch. I wish he was more respecting. I don’t shoot my gun’s off at the ground (rocks in the ground) or off my porch.
Pastrada
Unfortunately some people do not have the mental maturity to understand that their actions pose a danger to others. A 7 year old boy was killed by fourth of July “celebratory” gunfire several years ago in a heavily occupied neighborhood. I have no doubt that the person who killed him did not mean to and in fact may not know that he/she killed a 7 year child. But, that boy is DEAD because someone shot off a gun where they should have known better not to. If you have a large property in the country, blast away! We save all of our spray paint and whipped creme cans all year long for target practice at the family farm on the fourth of July. I am a really good shooter and it is very satisfying o see them fly across the field!
Because of people like this we have increasingly strict and invasive laws affecticting our personal privacy. They are clearly needed!
Is it legal to shoot gun between your and a neighbors home with no back stop or pit. He down hill in same direction as my home
I feel it should not be legal to shoot in an urban area, I’m all for owning guns for protection and going to a shooting range or the country to practice, but shooting on new years in a public street is in safe. I’m sitting here in my house afraid a stray bullet is going to come threw the window or wall or roof at any moment and strike my wife or kids. All because my neighbors feel the need to shoot off their guns right next door to me not 20 feet away or less.