Orange County NC Website
5 <br />sport shooting range is, but that he believes the act covers both private ranges in a person’s <br />backyard as well as commercial ranges open to the public. In reply to a question from <br />Commissioner McKee, Mr. Roberts said that Orange County did not have other regulations that <br />allow a complaint by two persons to establish a prima facie case. <br />Mr. Kirkland agreed with Mr. Tesoro that (h) was subjective. He suggested that instead of a <br />complaint by a law enforcement officer “or” two or more persons, to establish prima facie <br />evidence that a firearm use is loud or disturbing, that the complaint should be by a law <br />enforcement officer “and” two or more persons. The officer should always be included, and there <br />would need to be three people making that complaint. Without the officer’s complaint, there is a <br />greater likelihood of firearms noise complaints by neighbors who simply are not getting along <br />with each other. It sets a higher standard before a complaint can go forward. <br />Dr. Arvik said that he liked Mr. Kirkland’s suggestion.He then asked why the Committee was <br />going back over the noise provision after having discussed it at length on August 23. A majority <br />of us agreed on this approach, he said. Mr. Tesoro said that after seeing it written in legal <br />terminology he finds it to be too subjective; how can I shoot a gun and its noise be <br />“unnecessary,” he asked? Mr. Tilley suggested that the only person needed for a prima facie case <br />is the law enforcement officer; then you would not have to worry about neighbors against <br />neighbors. Ms. Conti said she would support that. <br />Mr. Hunnell said that the County’s fireworks ordinance is analogous to the Committee’s <br />discussion. There too, the issues are safety and noise. The Board of County Commissioners use <br />distance to address safety with regard to fireworks, and a requirement that neighbors be notified <br />in advance. You are still allowed to discharge fireworks if you follow the requirements. It should <br />be the same thing for discharging firearms, because while loud noise that might disturb othersis <br />apossible consequence of the activity, the activity is a legitimate one in a rural community. My <br />concern is with places and worship and schools; I think the firearms ordinance ought to be <br />restricted to that. People living in a rural community who are disturbed by firearms noise on a <br />Saturday morning should not be allowed to stop me from shooting on my property as long as I’m <br />doing it in a safe manner. <br />Dr. Arvik said that the noise one makes on the Fourth of July with fireworks is different from the <br />noise one makes with fireworks at other times. We can make time and place distinctions in order <br />to make the subjective determination as to what is unreasonably loud and disturbing. Fireworks <br />on the Fourth of July is only for a short period of time, and so weagree to accept the noise then. <br />But if a guy’s alwaysshooting in his backyard, then even in a rural community it is not <br />unreasonable that his noise may be loud and disturbing to his neighbors.