Answer Man: Is my neighbor's constant gun shooting legal?

John Boyle | The Citizen-Times

Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: I live in Swannanoa in a relatively isolated area that is heavily wooded and where most of the residences have many acres. There is a nearby parcel of land, and on most Sundays (and occasionally other days) there are people on this property who are firing guns for hours at a time. I know they have permission from the owner to be there. I am not against people owning and shooting guns, and I do not think that the people doing so are endangering the lives of the people or animals nearly. But it is disturbing to be gardening or sitting outside on my porch, enjoying a beautiful afternoon reading, sleeping or visiting with friends, and hear the gun shots for most of the afternoon. In addition we and many of the neighbors have dogs and several of them are terribly afraid of the sound of gun shots.

Recently the gun shots continued until after 7:30 p.m. I would like to know what the rules and regulations are concerning the firing of guns in Buncombe County. Are there hours or days of the week that are restricted? Does this have to be done on a designated “firing range?" Are there limits to how close to neighboring residences? I do not want to keep the gun enthusiasts from enjoying their sport, but I would like to have some peace and quiet in my neighborhood.

My answer: Sometimes, "rules and regulations" is kind of a loose term.

Real answer: "The current ordinances on the books don’t specify days or hours or which firearms can be discharged, or mandate that discharging a firearm must be relegated to a designated 'firing rang,'" said Natalie Bailey, spokeswoman for the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, adding that county ordinances do address firearm restrictions and unnecessary noises. "The general rule of thumb is firearms shouldn’t be discharged within 300 feet of an occupied residential structure without the occupant's expressed approval."

Obviously, 300 feet is not a great distance, especially if someone is firing a high-powered rifle.

"If this resident feels that the discharging of firearms that is occurring near their home is in violation of the ordinance, they should request a deputy for assistance," Bailey said.

The ordinance is available here: https://bit.ly/2u1dS1R

As I'd like you to stay awake through this column, I won't cite the whole shebang, but in part it reads, "...it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to make, permit, continue, or cause to be made or to create any unreasonably loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noise in the county."

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The definitions would seem to describe gunshots. The ordinance also states that these factors are to considered in determining if the noise is loud, disturbing and unnecessary: "time of day; proximity to residential structures; whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent or constant; the volume and intensity; whether the noise has been enhanced in volume or range by any type of mechanical means; the nature and zoning of the area; whether the noise is related to the normal operation of a business or other labor activity or is the result of some use for individual purposes; whether the noise is subject to being controlled without unreasonable effort or expense to the creator thereof."

So that all sounds good for a homeowner in search of peace and quiet. The ordinance also lists acts that are "are declared to be loud, disturbing and unnecessary noises in violation of this section."

Among those is, "Discharging firearms." But then all it says is a violation is, "Discharging a firearm within 300 feet of an occupied residential structure without the occupants express approval."

So, it seems to be a bit of an ordinance without many teeth.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com