BUCKINGHAM NIXES ORDINANCE PROHIBITING FIREARMS DISCHARGE

[RockIsland]

STUART LEE FRIEDMAN

More than 50 residents crowded into the Buckingham Township supervisors’ meeting Oct. 26 to voice their opposition to a proposed ordinance that would prohibit the discharge of firearms with certain exemptions.

The genesis of the ordinance was a response to a resident shooting at a pile of stumps on his property on Valley View Drive. Traffic on Route 202 wends behind the property.

“You can still shoot animals from your backyard,” said Supervisor Jon Forest, adding that the current ordinance, drafted in 1959, was “vague” and failed to address the comfort of residents. Forest maintained that the proposal, modeled on a 1960s New Britain ordinance, would increase firearm responsibility. .

Furlong resident David Derstine spoke of “one bad apple” He said, “We get that you’re in a bind.” But he asked if landowners in mixed zoning properties were considered, and questioned how that would be policed. He also maintained that the setbacks in the proposal could limit property sizes and help mitigate the problem, explaining that a 100-yard setback would effectively eliminate properties less than 2.5 acres.

Resident John Frederick suggested an ordinance solution tailored to the situation might be better. He asked about a proposal requiring a bigger backstop, but township Solicitor Craig Smith said drafting such a regulation would be cumbersome.

Marc Mansour, both a Buckingham resident and sergeant with the Solebury Township Police Department, was concerned about the safety of passing motorists. He had observed the shooter as “highly intoxicated.”

“Under no circumstance in my 15 years’ experience would I discharge a firearm in that close proximity to Route 202,” Mansour said, adding it was “only a matter of time before somebody gets hurt or killed on Route 202 because of this particular individual.”

Mansour added that almost every neighbor on Valley View Drive has complained and suggested the noise alone should be enough for a disorderly conduct citation.

Jim Cosner, a resident of Buckingham for 71 years, protested the ordinance. “This really lights my fuse,” he exclaimed. “The police should have done their job with someone that is drunk, disorderly, and is going to wreck my second amendment rights to bear my arms and be able to use my property properly.”

Kevin Coffman, a neighbor of Cosner, urged the supervisors to focus on the problem, not the masses. This is not the will of the people.

A resident from Pineville Road was outraged that one person could hold the township and police hostage, forcing them to make new laws while not enforcing laws already in place.

Resident Chris Chandler asked how a proposed ordinance defining larger backstops would address shotguns, which do not use them. He suggested tabling the ordinance and consulting the National Rifle Association for guidance. His suggestion was met with applause by the residents in attendance.

Former Buckingham Township Police Chief Steve Daniels stated, “You are creating a firestorm that you are not prepared to handle.”

He added – to some laughter – that he “never had a problem locking people up,” Daniels asserted that the magisterial district Judge would have a prima facie case of reckless endangerment.

Former Supervisor William Yerkes opposed the ordinance and suggested introducing “an element of common sense.” He advocated the supervisors to take a proactive approach and “call the gentleman creating the problem.”

Resident Tony Hoffman, however, questioned if this man would be approachable, calling him irrational and a “really bad apple.”

Hoffman stated that the man in question was hunting at 5 a.m. behind his house and on other neighboring properties, ignoring “no trespassing” signs.

Hoffman added that the “essence of alcohol was all over the place.” He said the man killed a deer close to his house the following week, covered his rifle and asked, “Are you going to be a good neighbor and not rat me out?”

Resident Steve Turbifill asked about the wisdom of making a law that essentially criminalizes everyone in an effort to criminalize one man. “Creating a room full of criminals is not an answer,” he exclaimed. Tufrbifill also said that a 22 long-rifle bullet will travel over a mile and well beyond any property line, questioning if any ballistics-based logic went into the ordinance proposal.

When all was said and done, the general consensus supported the suggestion by Daniels.

Forest made a motion not to adopt the ordinance. After some discussion among the board members in which Supervisor Maggie Rash suggested tabling the issue for more input, the motion not to adopt passed in a 3-0 vote to the enthusiastic applause of the residents in attendance.


http://www.buckscountyherald.com/new...discharge.html

[mpan72]

Seems like cooler heads prevailed this time.

[bamboomaster]

Seems like cooler heads prevailed this time.

True, but the "unapproachable" deplorable can do better - shoot from a tree stand with a suppressed rifle. He'll still get to fill all his tags - he does purchase tags, right? Or maybe this is all about land and the guy owns 80 acres and can do whatever he wants.

Developers, while salivating at the possibilities, may have been trying to get him to move to a Passaic, NJ row home for years.

Including the tear-jerking issue of being worried about some early morning driver getting shot on Rte 202 during hunting season. It's not like they follow the speed limit going up Rte 202, unless there's a motorcycle rally or something.

And most yellow buses are still warming up in the parking lot and haven't hit the road.

Have a friend who lives there and just hates groundhogs that keep attacking his seriously fenced-in REALLY BIG garden. He puts his can on his .22 and is not working to nail tails to his garage doors, just to protect his produce, which he has a right to do. He's not that selective about time - just the motion of a groundhog digging by his fence. Shoots suppressed from elevation and groundhog is down,.

There's always something more to "The Rest of the Story..."

Sadly, in media, most of the "back story" never gets reported as a result of budgetary time constraints and looking for the next "blood sells" headline.

This story really isn't about 2A in many thanks to the vocal folks at the township meeting...

Show up, or shut up!

That includes ALL of us...