beerslurpy
member
The dilemma:
something is taking racoon/cat sized poops in and around my swimming pool and occaisionally killing and eating frogs as well. I want to wait for it and shoot it with a small caliber firearm until it dies. I need to know if this is legal. If not, I would like to know what I can do that is legal. If it is legal, I would like to know what legal pitfalls I have to be mindful of.
Preemption and the bounds thereof:
Looking at florida law and what legal precedent I could get ahold of it seems that thanks to 790.33 (state preemption) and NRA vs City of South Miami (2002) and Penelas v. Arms Technology, Inc (ongoing?) it has been found that 790.33 is an unbounded prohibition against regulation of any aspects of firearms, ammunition and shooting by local governments. Additionally, this prohibition extends not just to the legislature, but to other branches of government as well. According to the Florida attorney general (in an opinion written in July 2005), this applies to laws regarding the discharge of firearms. Only the state may make such laws.
State laws regarding discharge of firearms:
790.15 forbids the discharge of a firearm in a "public place." Different Florida laws define "public place" in different ways. None explictly define it in regards to firearms discharging. It is some area visible to the public or is it actually publically owned property and throughfares?
790.25 spells out, in a non-comprehensive way, certain areas that are expressly protected as legal:
-Citizens of this state subject to duty in the Armed Forces ... when training or preparing themselves for military duty (possibly useless unless you can prove an intent to enroll and that shooting at animals was somehow military training, which it isnt)
-A person engaged in fishing, camping, or lawful hunting or going to or returning from a fishing, camping, or lawful hunting expedition (does killing of pest species count as hunting?)
-A person firing weapons for testing or target practice under safe conditions and in a safe place not prohibited by law or going to or from such place (is the curtilage of my house private property? is it a "safe condition"? is it prohibited by law?)
-A person possessing arms at his or her home or place of business (says nothing about discharging)
Anyone care to take a lawyerly guess?
something is taking racoon/cat sized poops in and around my swimming pool and occaisionally killing and eating frogs as well. I want to wait for it and shoot it with a small caliber firearm until it dies. I need to know if this is legal. If not, I would like to know what I can do that is legal. If it is legal, I would like to know what legal pitfalls I have to be mindful of.
Preemption and the bounds thereof:
Looking at florida law and what legal precedent I could get ahold of it seems that thanks to 790.33 (state preemption) and NRA vs City of South Miami (2002) and Penelas v. Arms Technology, Inc (ongoing?) it has been found that 790.33 is an unbounded prohibition against regulation of any aspects of firearms, ammunition and shooting by local governments. Additionally, this prohibition extends not just to the legislature, but to other branches of government as well. According to the Florida attorney general (in an opinion written in July 2005), this applies to laws regarding the discharge of firearms. Only the state may make such laws.
State laws regarding discharge of firearms:
790.15 forbids the discharge of a firearm in a "public place." Different Florida laws define "public place" in different ways. None explictly define it in regards to firearms discharging. It is some area visible to the public or is it actually publically owned property and throughfares?
790.25 spells out, in a non-comprehensive way, certain areas that are expressly protected as legal:
-Citizens of this state subject to duty in the Armed Forces ... when training or preparing themselves for military duty (possibly useless unless you can prove an intent to enroll and that shooting at animals was somehow military training, which it isnt)
-A person engaged in fishing, camping, or lawful hunting or going to or returning from a fishing, camping, or lawful hunting expedition (does killing of pest species count as hunting?)
-A person firing weapons for testing or target practice under safe conditions and in a safe place not prohibited by law or going to or from such place (is the curtilage of my house private property? is it a "safe condition"? is it prohibited by law?)
-A person possessing arms at his or her home or place of business (says nothing about discharging)
Anyone care to take a lawyerly guess?