Do YOU thinking firing blanks in the air should be the same as firing live rounds?

[tank_monkey]

As in ILLEGAL....

Not a poll, not a quest for official legal info. Just looking for your opinions.

We all know that firing guns in the air for celebrations is stupid. There are tons of law against just that. But what about firing blanks? There are no bullets. What is the harm?

I recently got into an debate with a local city official over that very hypothetical question. She claimed that just expelling the firearm is what is illegal. I pointed out that only firing AMMUNITION as in live ammunition posed any danger and that blanks (other than noise ordinances) didn't count. So why would firing your gun with blanks be the same as discharging your weapon 'within city limits".

Just curious. Hope you guys have an opinion.

[LAGC]

I presume you mean only during appropriate times like say the Fourth of July or New Year\'s. I see no problem with it.

Keep in mind, if you live in a city, many cities are getting those fancy new gunfire locators that can triangulate the sound of gunfire with uncanny accuracy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfire_locator

So if you don\'t want the cops showing up at your door-step, best to not fuck around if you live in an urban area.

[btcave]

I fire blanks off. It's the best alternative to firecrackers and live ammo. We don't get to have the fun stuff at 4th of July here in Oregon... ie. firecrackers. Blanks work for me. The firearm is just a noise maker with blanks. This may fall legally under the category of being unlawful to DISCHARGE firearms in city limits. Laws don't always mate with logic you know.

[Kadmos]

Should be illegal.

The problems aren't just falling bullets, the loud bangs can cause accidents, people walking through the streets "shooting" guns can cause all sorts of accidents and incidents.

Imagine someone firing blanks walking towards your porch with the gun pointed in your direction and you have your concealed weapon on you...what are the likely results?

Wouldn't you want that guys actions to have been illegal? Because if they weren't, then yours weren't justified.

[arcangel]

I don't see a problem with it, it is better than live ammo. I have some 5.56 blanks around somewhere. The only concern I can see is someone getting the wrong idea and calling the police. But it really isn't worth the hassle of the cops coming around. How you going to prove to them its blanks when they are arresting you and taking the guns away? The police here aren't really sympathetic, and are itchy to making quota.

[arcangel]

I don't see a problem with it, it is better than live ammo. I have some 5.56 blanks around somewhere. The only concern I can see is someone getting the wrong idea and calling the police. But it really isn't worth the hassle of the cops coming around. How you going to prove to them its blanks when they are arresting you and taking the guns away? The police here aren't really sympathetic, and are itchy to making quota. I say if you have a suppressor its just fine.

[Partisan1983]

In a city/urban area yes.


Out in the sticks/rural area no.

[mriddick]

On an individual basis I don't see a problem, however over all I think it just causes problems and should be discouraged.

It's still firing a firearm regardless and if the charge is discharging a firearm then it's probably a valid charge the way the law is written.

[slamfire51]

I live in the 'boonies', so no problems here.
I shoot blanks and live ammo on the 4th and New Years. Blanks in the air and live stuff directly into the ground.
In the city or town, I'd probably not shoot blanks.

[Richard Simmons]

Should be and is are two different things. From what I've seen in most places it's the "discharge of a firearm" or words to that effect that is an illegal/prohibited activity. By definition that "discharge" probably doesn't differntiate between a live round and a blank. While one obviously presents a greater degree of danger than the other they both illicit the same response from neighbors, police, etc.

[Krupski]

As in ILLEGAL....

Not a poll, not a quest for official legal info. Just looking for your opinions.

We all know that firing guns in the air for celebrations is stupid. There are tons of law against just that. But what about firing blanks? There are no bullets. What is the harm?

I recently got into an debate with a local city official over that very hypothetical question. She claimed that just expelling the firearm is what is illegal. I pointed out that only firing AMMUNITION as in live ammunition posed any danger and that blanks (other than noise ordinances) didn't count. So why would firing your gun with blanks be the same as discharging your weapon 'within city limits".

Just curious. Hope you guys have an opinion.

First of all... my personal feeling is that NOTHING should be "illegal" unless it hurts someone else. Firing blanks normally will not hurt anyone else.

But secondly... people are stupid and some think blanks are totally safe. in 1984 a dumbass actor on a TV stage took a pistol loaded with (safe) blanks and put it to his head and pulled the trigger. The gas pulse fractured his skull and drove pieces of bone into his brain. 1984 Darwin award winner.

So... I am all for people doing whatever they like as long as it doesn't hurt someone else... problem is, people WILL get killed by idiots thinking blanks are 100% safe because they "don't fire bullets".

Should it be "illegal"? I really can't make up my mind... yes or no.

[Krupski]

Should be illegal.

The problems aren't just falling bullets, the loud bangs can cause accidents, people walking through the streets "shooting" guns can cause all sorts of accidents and incidents.

Imagine someone firing blanks walking towards your porch with the gun pointed in your direction and you have your concealed weapon on you...what are the likely results?

Wouldn't you want that guys actions to have been illegal? Because if they weren't, then yours weren't justified.

Good point. Didn't think of that one.

[Krupski]

Should be and is are two different things. From what I've seen in most places it's the "discharge of a firearm" or words to that effect that is an illegal/prohibited activity. By definition that "discharge" probably doesn't differntiate between a live round and a blank. While one obviously presents a greater degree of danger than the other they both illicit the same response from neighbors, police, etc.

My 15 yo son (and I) got a talking to by the local police. We didn't know... but firing a AIR PELLET RIFLE is considered "discharging a firearm" in out town. I COULD have been arrested and charged, but they decided just to warn me.

[Richard Simmons]

My 15 yo son (and I) got a talking to by the local police. We didn't know... but firing a AIR PELLET RIFLE is considered "discharging a firearm" in out town. I COULD have been arrested and charged, but they decided just to warn me.

That's the way it was here until the VCDL, and others helped get the state to change the law and force the local governments to revise their laws in accordance. As long as you have a safe back stop you can now shoot air guns in the city limits throughout Virginia.

[slamfire51]

As in ILLEGAL....

Not a poll, not a quest for official legal info. Just looking for your opinions.

We all know that firing guns in the air for celebrations is stupid. There are tons of law against just that. But what about firing blanks? There are no bullets. What is the harm?

I recently got into an debate with a local city official over that very hypothetical question. She claimed that just expelling the firearm is what is illegal. I pointed out that only firing AMMUNITION as in live ammunition posed any danger and that blanks (other than noise ordinances) didn't count. So why would firing your gun with blanks be the same as discharging your weapon 'within city limits".

Just curious. Hope you guys have an opinion.

I'm curious about how your conversation came about with this city official.
Were you cited for doing what you're asking for an opinion on?

[tank_monkey]

I'm curious about how your conversation came about with this city official.
Were you cited for doing what you're asking for an opinion on?

People were asking me to sell them some of MY own supply of full flash blanks for celebrations. They did NOT want to fire live rounds. Okay, I"m thinking. Good thinking but it depends WHERE you are firing your gun. Sitting in your driveway in a big city or the sprawling suburbs firing your S&W Model 29 in the air is still a bad idea. The only guys I actually supplied blanks to were the guys I KNEW were going to drive out into the boonies, literally the middle of the desert to a friend's private property on his own 40 acres.

But I was just talking to the city official, because I mentioned that this very city had three city blocks shut down for a major motion picture and there were tons of SHOOT OUTS by actors up and down the street. (Heck, it's FUN to see guys firing UMP-40s and MP5s and B&T MP9s at each other! Woo hoo!) They're firing live guns (albeit with blanks in them) for the movie production. It was mostly a "legal theory" discussion more than anything else. This is California. We do film production all over the place. The Cities don't seem to care one whit if Bruce Willis is firing a gun in the middle of the street. Apparently he is NOT violating that 'discharge of a firearm in city limits" law now isn't he?