Free Republic

SULTAN, Wash. (AP) - A Sultan nudist club is suing to stop a public shooting range from being built near the park it runs for nude outdoor enthusiasts. Lake Bronson Club sued the state Board of Natural Resources and Snohomish County last week, saying the state can't transfer 150 acres of forestland to the county for a gun range. The lawsuit alleges state law requires the land be used for a public park. Club secretary Jodi Halfhill says it's not a good idea to have a shooting range a mile from a social camping club. The club has about 320...

Hopes of turning an informal target shooting area off Ayres Road at the far southeast end of Benton County into a properly managed shooting facility have been shot down. County officials said the state's Growth Management Act and a related King County court ruling prevent them for allowing a shooting range on land zoned for agriculture. Ag lands must be preserved only for ag-related uses, according to the 2000 case, King County v. Growth Management Act Hearing Board. "We used to have shooting ranges and even race tracks allowed in our zoning ordinance until 2007, but we had to take...

It was hard to tell which side had more supporters during a two-and-half hour hearing on a proposed shooting center outside Valley Springs. Applause came frequently after each side made a point, with neighbors worried about noise and supporters touting sound mitigation techniques and the business and community value of the center. In a 4-1 vote, the Calaveras County Planning Commission ultimately decided that shooting centers were allowable on industrial properties. The center is the project of Tom Coe, who wants to build on his industrial-zoned property off Watertown Road near Campo Seco. Numerous industries could be allowed on such...

A standing-room-only crowd gathered in the county executive’s conference room June 13 to express their objections to a proposed shooting range planned for Claude Loftis Road, near the Cherry Creek community. Members of the county commission’s Steering Committee B were surrounded by constituents of all ages, including several young children, who occupied every seat in the room. Sheriff Oddie Shoupe acted as spokesperson for the group and stated he was there not in his capacity as the chief law enforcement officer of the county but as a resident of Claude Loftis Road. According to information provided by Commissioner Al Klee,...

At 75 years old, Betty McIntyre didn’t think she would need to know how to use a gun. She had fired a shotgun years ago with her husband Ray while duck hunting, but never thought much about a pistol. That changed years ago because of concerns by her late son, Phillip. “Phillip gave me a gun just in case something happened to Ray. He said he wanted me to learn to protect myself,” McIntyre said. She took a self-defense gun class through the Florence Police Department and then learned about the Florence Gun Club. “I went to the shooting range...

Houston, Tx --(Ammoland.com)- SB 766 by Texas Senator Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) is being sponsored in the Texas House by State Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs). This necessary legislation is on the House calendar for Tuesday. Please send email and please call. Explanation: Public policy in the State of Texas allows law-abiding, eligible citizens to obtain a concealed handgun license to carry a handgun for self-defense. Currently there are over 400,000 Texans with a license. Included in the DPS training course is the requirement to demonstrate proficiency on a shooting range. Texas hunters also require access to close shooting ranges...

State Senator Andrew Brock introduced SB 560 on Tuesday in the North Carolina Senate. The bill says, in effect, that a range that moved from its present location to a new location due to annexation, road construction, zoning changes, etc. would still be considered in continuous operation. *S560-v-1* A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT A SPORT SHOOTING RANGE THAT RELOCATES DUE TO CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES IS STILL CONSIDERED TO BE CONTINUOUSLY IN EXISTENCE SINCE BEGINNING OPERATION AND NOT TO HAVE UNDERGONE A SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN USE. The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: SECTION 1. G.S. 14-409.46...

There was a bit of concern along Zonolite Road when word spread that an indoor shooting range was opening up among the eclectic collection of shops. The old industrial area near Emory University was already home to a cafe, a Zen center, a pilates studio and architectural firms. But earlier this month, it also became a place you can go to fire your Glock. Or AK-47. “There was an initial reaction of, ‘Oh no, rednecks and gun nuts,’” said Davidson Reid, the owner of Studio Lotus, the pilates center. “But I said, ‘No, your neighbors are going to be there.’”...

The Marietta Times is reporting that plans for an open gun range at Washington State Community College met with some neighborhood resistance during a public meeting about the proposed facility earlier this month. According to the article, many expressed concern about the safety of a firing range in proximity to their homes and properties, and it appears members of Marietta's City Council would agree with those neighbors, some of whom are circulating a petition asking council to block the development of a shooting range on the college campus. Council would have to repeal the current city code prohibiting such facilities...

A Pierce County Superior Court judge on Friday delayed a decision on whether to limit operations at the Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club. Kitsap County prosecutors are seeking a preliminary injunction against the club, which would curtail its operations temporarily to allow for safety and environmental inspections. The injunction also would bar any site development at the Central Kitsap gun club. Some shooting could be allowed if the injunction is approved, but the allowed activities would be the discretion of the judge. Friday morning, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Susan Serko delayed ruling on the injunction until Oct. 28 in...

US TV legend Bob Barker was rushed to the hospital Thursday after fainting at a shooting range in the Los Angeles area, according to entertainment website TMZ. The 86-year-old former host of The Price Is Right was shooting when he collapsed, a witness said. He had regained consciousness by the time help arrived but was still taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.

The trees and underbrush surrounding a state Game Commission rifle range along Route 944 in North Middleton Township where an attorney was fatally shot in July have been cleared. “It’s pretty cleaned up now,” Police Chief Jeffrey Rudolph said, adding that the work was done by the state Game Commission. “There are no places to hide.” On July 21, the body of Todd Getgen, 42, of Enola, was found at the range. Police said he had been shot eight or nine times. Raymond F. Peake, 64, of the 5200 block of Terrace Road in Hampden Twp., was ordered to stand...

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - I can think of no other way to begin this blog post than being completely honest: I hate guns. More accurately, I think, I am afraid of guns. I have no qualms with the second amendment, but the last few days leading up to tonight's police academy class have filled me with a mixture of about 25 percent excitement and 75 percent anxiety. About two hours ago, I locked and loaded a .40 caliber handgun and fired a bullet for the first time. It was at once scarier and easier than I expected. Through Purdue's police...

Will they let us in without a gun? that’s my biggest concern as we drive to the new Clark County Shooting Park at the northern end of Decatur. I ask my cohort whether we can borrow her brother’s pistol; but shortly the talk turns to how her mother got shot in the foot once in a family gun-handling accident—“blood spurted straight up!” I decide we’ll go gunless. Turns out yes, you’re welcome to go gunless. You can take a picnic. You can take a properly leashed dog. It’s a public park for the stouter-in-faith than I. There are RVs and...

A unique business is opening in Fernley early next month. Already set up with an office on U.S. Highway 95A near Main Street, the Defensive Pistol Institute is accepting applications for classes in safe gun use. Owner Cal Eilrich, a Fernley city councilman and member of many shooting organizations as well as the owner of a local shooting range, is offering his expertise to teach the art of handling firearms. “The classes are set up for a number of things from introductory to firearms to the National Rifle Association (NRA) basic pistol course. There are all sorts of levels of...

The report described the launch of an "improved Sejil 2 missile" as successful and said the missile had a range greater than 1,250 miles — putting Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf within reach. The launch came after Israel's military intelligence chief said Tuesday that Iran is close to a "technological breakthrough" that would enable it to build nuclear weapons. Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin said Iran has enough nuclear material for a warhead and is close to being able to build one. He didn't specify the new technology or say when he expects Iran to reach such a capability....

Senior Hizbullah official Mahmoud Kamati on Wednesday mocked IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, and said all of Israel was within his group's fire range. "Ashkenazi's threats are baseless and are an attempt to draw attention away from the enemy's defeat in Gaza and in Lebanon," Kamati said in an interview with Al-Jazeera. He went on to boast that "all the cities and all Israeli military and industrial centers are within Hizbullah's fire range."

HIBBING — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., traveled to the Range on Thursday armed with some upbeat job statistics that she hopes and believes will result from the $879 billion federal stimulus/spending bill signed into law earlier this week. But when the lawmaker, with family Range roots, arrived to speak at the Hibbing Community College in the late afternoon she had to add a new, unpleasant job number to her speech — 590 layoffs at the Minntac taconite mine in Mountain Iron. “These are real people and this is a real story of layoffs and pain. It’s difficult but important...

2009 H1N1 Flu: Situation Update: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) based on the 122 Cities Report was low and within the bounds of what is expected at this time of year.

Shooting range dedicated in honor of 'Neffie' Laverne "Neffie" Neff volunteered countless hours to his police lodge over the years -- many of them at the lodge's shooting range, a place he tended to lovingly and meticulously. That's why, Neff's widow said, he would have been so proud to know his decades of selfless dedication led to a different kind of dedication on Thursday. As his family, friends and lodge brothers looked on, officials from York County's Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 73 dedicated the range in Neff's honor. It's now the Laverne A. Neff Memorial Shooting Range, complete with...