Letter of Advocacy

Here is an early letter of advocacy that was sent to my local Senator imploring them to act on our behalf to address our growing concerns about neighbors target shooting in very close proximity to our home and property.

Dear Senator,

I am contacting you today to request legislation be passed regulating the discharging of firearms while in the act of target shooting. Currently, there are no regulation, local or state, that pertains to target shooting - specifically when conducted on private property. As a result, many unsafe and dangerous situations have arisen. Not only am I very concerned for the safety of my family, but so are many of my neighbors.

In my town I have numerous neighbors who target shoot within 500 feet of my property, and the city enforces zero precautions to ensure neighbors abutting the shooting ranges are protected from errant bullets. I was told by a sergeant at the local police station that the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (D.E.E.P) has offered no guidelines or laws pertaining to shooting on private property other than hunting. There is one law and it states that "you may not discharge a gun within 500 feet of a residence." Consequently, there is nothing the police can do about my neighbors' shooting ranges because they are more than 500 feet from my home. To be clear - one range is 388 feet from my property, another is 30 feet. However, both are more than 500 feet from my residence, so according to the police, "it is safe." To be clear, I own a small plot of land at just under four acres. The average lot size for my neighborhood is 3.5 acres. Furthermore, my neighborhood is zoned as the second most densely populated residential area within our town. Yet, my neighbors are fully within the law to target shoot at their pleasure, deploying long guns, AR-15s, handguns, shotguns, and even in some cases fully automatic weapons in very close proximity to my land and in the middle of a densely populated neighborhood.

I am imploring you to work with D.E.E.P to pass common sense gun laws pertaining to the act of target shooting on private property. What that may look like is caliber restrictions based upon lot sizes, regulations regarding the construction of barriers to prevent bullets from leaving the shooter's property, noise ordinances, and zoning requirements. D.E.E.P has left this legislation up to the cities and counties, but the cities and counties are looking to the State to offer guidelines/laws. It is a catch-22, and as a result, it is just a matter of time before someone is hurt or killed. I am asking you to act before it is too late.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need additional information. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, A Concerned Citizen