Because if it is, you could be out of luck — especially if you live in Florida and one of you neighbors decides to go target shooting in their front yard.
According to a report from WFLA-TV, Joseph Carrannante, 21, of St. Petersburg, told those living near his Lakewood Estates home that he planned to set up a shooting range in his front yard, where he would practice firing his 9mm handgun every other weekend. Carrannante’s neighborhood, as its quaint name suggests, is described as a place where, “[o]n any given day, you’ll see kids climbing trees and playing on swing sets.”
One Lakewood Estates resident, in response to the news about the gun range, said, “I don’t know if this idiot is going to start popping off rounds. I’m furious,” adding, “You heard him say, I’ll tell the neighbors when I’m getting ready to fire. What, do we gather our children and hide? Ridiculous. C’mon.”
So, it should have been pretty easy to corral Carrannante before he got the impulse to follow through on his plans, right?
Not exactly. WFLA reports that the St. Petersburg police department said that Carrannante was legally allowed to start firing rounds in his front yard.
Carrannante, for his part, said that he got all of the proper paperwork for his weapon, noting, “I wouldn’t have done all this if I didn’t know the reaction.” And yes, he claimed that he’d notify his neighbors as to when he plans to discharge his weapon. Neighbors, to say the least, weren’t impressed by the nature of Carrannante’s consideration.
”I don’t consider it responsible, I don’t consider it reasonable,” said one parent, who vowed to fight Carrannante’s plans. “He’s asking me to go inside my house, go to the other side of the house, as he’s informing me he’ll fire his weapon.”
Luckily, it didn’t take long before efforts were made to talk Carannante out of his plans; his former employer, who owns some ambulances, showed up in one to reason with the 21-year-old. Carannante tore down his front yard range. And an arrangement was made to purchase a one-year membership for him at a local shooting range.
And a situation that could have led to possible criminal charges was, for the time being anyway, thankfully avoided.
