Senate approves gun range regulation bill

05/19/2005

Star Tribune
May 19, 2005


A proposal that protects shooting ranges from some attempts to close or curb them, so long as they comply with state noise standards, passed the Minnesota Senate on Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, passed 54-10. The measure arose because of increasing conflicts between development and sportsmen’s clubs. A similar measure faces action on the House floor.

The bill requires shooting ranges to comply with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency noise standards, providing them protection against potential lawsuits if they do so. Homebuilders developing adjacent land would have to pay the cost of establishing berms, planting trees or taking other action to buffer their projects from a shooting range.

Proponents of the bill described it as a compromise between gun groups and local governments. But opponents said it replaces local control with state regulation.

Under the proposal, shooting ranges in compliance with state standards can expand their membership, increase activities and conduct shooting between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Melinda Lopes, a Hugo resident leading opposition to a local gun range, was upset that the bill allows existing ranges to expand everything but days and hours of operation. “This piece of legislation makes [shooting ranges] a more powerful neighbor than any other,” she said.