Can you use your own home as a makeshift gun range? In Florida I’m not so sure but apparently the answer in Colorado Springs, CO is a resounding “No”.
Last Saturday night (11/15/14) Colorado Springs Police were dispatched to a private home reference “shots being fired”. According to cops the front door was open when they arrived at the home (not that I believe that for a second) and, hearing shots, they entered to discover 3 folks in the basement, 2 of them taking turns with practice shooting guns at empty bottles.
The two shooters who, according to cops had been drinking, were arrested for “prohibited use of weapons” and “reckless endangerment”.
In Florida F.S. 790.15 makes it a 1st degree misdemeanor (punishable by up to 364 days in jail) to 1) knowingly discharge a firearm in a public place or 2) to recklessly or negligently discharge a firearm outdoors on residential property; but the statute says nothing about shooting guns indoors.
NOTE that unless it is in response to a direct threat to life or limb I do not recommend that anyone shoot their gun inside a residence, and I do recommend that if you want some target practice that you go to any of a number of gun ranges, indoor or outdoor. (In fact, if you live in SoFlo then I strongly recommend Nexus Gun Range – an absolutely incredible state-of-the-art shooting facility).
And, whatever you do, do not mix booze and guns… That is B-A-D news. Not only is it an independent crime in Florida ( F.S. 790.151 ) to possess or discharge a firearm while under the influence (or booze or controlled substances), but doing so is a recipe for disaster (i.e. much more serious charges and things that can’t simply be taken back).
Oh, and for anyone who is thinking about discharging a gun from a motor vehicle, “drive-by” style. its a 2nd degree felony (punishable by up to 15 years in state prison) to “knowingly and willfully discharge any firearm from a vehicle withim 1,000 feet of any person (again, see F.S. 790.15(2) ).
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