A bill to stop a neighbor's stray bullet is more about property rights than gun control.
The Florida Legislature has a chance to undo a mistake that somehow became state law. No one should have to worry about being accidentally shot by their neighbors using a backyard shooting range. Stray bullet shootings, unfortunately, are a problem in the "Gunshine" State.
Filed by State Rep. Katherine Waldron, D-Wellington, HB 259 would make it a first-degree misdemeanor in a residential community for a firearm discharge that fails to remain within the shooter's property. A maximum fine and jail time, $1,000 and a year respectively doesn't sound like much. However, given the zealotry of Florida's gun rights enthusiasts, a law keeping discharged bullets on the property in which they were fired amounts to a big step. State lawmakers should give the legislation serious consideration and pass it.
More: 'It is about safety:' Stray bullet bill gains support after injuries in South Florida
"It's a property rights bill," Waldron told the Post Editorial Board in explaining her legislation. "You should have a right to be safe on your own property. I can't imagine living like that."
Stray bullet shootings, a decade-old problem in Florida
Florida's gun-friendly reputation is well known. Going back as far as the 1980s, state law prohibited local governments from regulating firearms. For most of that time, municipalities and county governments had ignored the law and passed their own ordinances. All that changed in 2011, when the Legislature and then-Gov. Rick Scott revised the law with new penalties for any local official who dared to enact any ordinance limiting the rights of gun owners and the property rights of gun stores and target ranges.
Add the more recent law that eliminated the need for a permit for concealed weapons, the recent proposed bill that further weakens background checks and the ongoing push for an "open-carry" law and the state's penchant for guns, guns and guns is readily understood.
Waldron took on the issue after a constituent in her district was shot by a .45-caliber bullet while checking on horses housed on the woman's property. Nicole Adams was fortunate. The bullet had lost much of its velocity, resulting in a graze instead of something more serious.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies investigating the shooting found assault rifles in an adjacent nursery where target shooters had been practicing. When Adams complained to the property owner, she said she was told: "Go f... yourselves." The deputies didn't fare much better. They could only urge the property owners to shoot their bullets into a berm, nothing more.
Errant bullets a statewide problem
If what happened to Adams sounds like a one-off, it's not. Florida already had a law allowing target practice on residential property where development is limited to no more than one home per acre. In 2013, the Legislature put more teeth into that law and approved a bevy of gun-preemption bills.. Since then, stray bullet shootings have become more common.
A grandfather in Volusia County was struck in the chest by an errant bullet in 2013. He died within the hour. The shooter, according to the Daytona Beach News Journal, was identified and admitted to firing the gun. No arrest was made, since the shooting wasn't illegal. A mother of three in Martin County was shot in the shoulder last year. Again, law enforcement's hands were tied.
This January, a migrant worker picking tomatoes at Bedner's Farm west of Boynton Beach was struck in the head by a stray bullet. The wound penetrated his skull. Other workers told sheriff's deputies the bullets came from a nearby property often used for target practice.
Waldron's bill faces a rough road in the Legislature. The NRA, a still-powerful lobby in the state capitol, remains undecided, a plus at this point. Waldron hopes the gun lobby will stay neutral, which would give her Republican colleagues cover to consider the bill. Common sense would back outright support but that isn't always a decisive factor in the legislative process.
HB 269 should be different. Waldron has the support of a small but fervent group of homeowners, legislators, law enforcement and Second Amendment supporters who back the constitutional right to own a gun but also believe that homeowners should be safe from stray bullets from nearby gun ranges. It's a reasonable stance that gives validity to a sensible bill.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: A neighbor's stray bullet is a big Florida problem. Here's the fix.
