From the GONetwork:
At a County Commission Meeting tonight in the courthouse in Covington, the Newton County Board of Commissioners will consider extending the distance where discharging a firearm is legal. The current ordinance states that in order to discharge a firearm, shooters must be 350 yards from any street, alley or building. Increasing that yardage will eliminate huntable acres in Newton County.
The BOC meeting will be held tonight, December 7, at 7 p.m. at the Newton
County Historic Courthouse on the square in Covington.
Sportsmen who live or hunt in Newton County should make an effort to attend the Board of Commissioner¹s meeting tonight. Rather than penalizing all sportsmen in Newton County, the Commission should ask the sheriff¹s department to enforce existing discharge ordinances, which are clearly sufficient.
Too, the impact on the deer population in Newton County if firearms hunting is reduced by more restrictive ordinances is an important consideration. According to Georgia Wildlife Resources Division estimates, there were 880 deer/car collisions in Newton County. This number is likely to climb if legal hunters in the county become less efficient due to restrictive ordinances.
Below is an article that appeared in this morning's Newton Citizen.
Covington: Because of an increase in complaints about weapons being fired in residential areas, the Newton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) will
discuss making changes to the county¹s weapons discharge ordinance tonight (December 7, 2004).
The Newton County Sheriff¹s Office (NSCO) received more than 130 complaints from August 1 to November 1 regarding weapons being discharged too close for comfort to residences, said Newton County Sheriff Joe Nichols.
Sometimes, the NSCO fields two or three calls a day, Nichols said. No one
has been injured, but Nichols said there have been two instances where a
bullet hit homes.
³It is an increasing problem, and obviously it¹s a dangerous problem —
Nichols said. ³It may be a little bit more so right now because of hunting
season.²
So Nichols approached District 2 Commissioner Ronnie Dinsdale, the BOC¹s
liaison to the sheriff¹s office, and requested the board consider
strengthening its firearms discharge ordinance.
Currently, the county ordinance states that it is unlawful to discharge a
weapon within 350 yards of any street, alley or building, at any point upon
the land of another person without their consent or to discharge any air
gun, BB gun or other toy gun which projects lead of other missile, said
Jenny Carter, a lawyer with county attorney Tommy Craig¹s office. The
ordinance also prohibits the firing of a firearm while under the influence
of alcohol or drugs.
Commissioners may consider increasing the distance and limiting unlawful
discharge within so many yards of a public roadway, business or place of
worship, Carter said. Nichols said he¹s not interested in imposing on resident¹s Second Amendment right to bear arms. But the county¹s rapid growth has made it necessary to address the issue, which wasn¹t a problem when people were living miles apart, he said.
³I think people have the right to have firearms and use firearms as long as
they use them responsibly,² he said. ³Unfortunately, a few people have
forced us to have to have some type of prohibitive ordinance.²
At a County Commission Meeting tonight in the courthouse in Covington, the Newton County Board of Commissioners will consider extending the distance where discharging a firearm is legal. The current ordinance states that in order to discharge a firearm, shooters must be 350 yards from any street, alley or building. Increasing that yardage will eliminate huntable acres in Newton County.
The BOC meeting will be held tonight, December 7, at 7 p.m. at the Newton
County Historic Courthouse on the square in Covington.
Sportsmen who live or hunt in Newton County should make an effort to attend the Board of Commissioner¹s meeting tonight. Rather than penalizing all sportsmen in Newton County, the Commission should ask the sheriff¹s department to enforce existing discharge ordinances, which are clearly sufficient.
Too, the impact on the deer population in Newton County if firearms hunting is reduced by more restrictive ordinances is an important consideration. According to Georgia Wildlife Resources Division estimates, there were 880 deer/car collisions in Newton County. This number is likely to climb if legal hunters in the county become less efficient due to restrictive ordinances.
Below is an article that appeared in this morning's Newton Citizen.
Covington: Because of an increase in complaints about weapons being fired in residential areas, the Newton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) will
discuss making changes to the county¹s weapons discharge ordinance tonight (December 7, 2004).
The Newton County Sheriff¹s Office (NSCO) received more than 130 complaints from August 1 to November 1 regarding weapons being discharged too close for comfort to residences, said Newton County Sheriff Joe Nichols.
Sometimes, the NSCO fields two or three calls a day, Nichols said. No one
has been injured, but Nichols said there have been two instances where a
bullet hit homes.
³It is an increasing problem, and obviously it¹s a dangerous problem —
Nichols said. ³It may be a little bit more so right now because of hunting
season.²
So Nichols approached District 2 Commissioner Ronnie Dinsdale, the BOC¹s
liaison to the sheriff¹s office, and requested the board consider
strengthening its firearms discharge ordinance.
Currently, the county ordinance states that it is unlawful to discharge a
weapon within 350 yards of any street, alley or building, at any point upon
the land of another person without their consent or to discharge any air
gun, BB gun or other toy gun which projects lead of other missile, said
Jenny Carter, a lawyer with county attorney Tommy Craig¹s office. The
ordinance also prohibits the firing of a firearm while under the influence
of alcohol or drugs.
Commissioners may consider increasing the distance and limiting unlawful
discharge within so many yards of a public roadway, business or place of
worship, Carter said. Nichols said he¹s not interested in imposing on resident¹s Second Amendment right to bear arms. But the county¹s rapid growth has made it necessary to address the issue, which wasn¹t a problem when people were living miles apart, he said.
³I think people have the right to have firearms and use firearms as long as
they use them responsibly,² he said. ³Unfortunately, a few people have
forced us to have to have some type of prohibitive ordinance.²
