By: Anthony Morelli
Gun rights are at stake in a major Supreme Court case.
The anti-gun lobby is hoping for a decisive victory.
And gun owners are bracing for what happens next.
Local governments trying to use their power to crack down on shooting ranges is nothing new, but just how far they can go is the topic of a major court ruling that is expected to come soon.
The Monadnock Rod and Gun Club in New Hampshire is engaged in a court battle with the town of Peterborough, and the New Hampshire Supreme Court is deciding the case.
The result of this case will have significant implications on gun ranges across the state, but perhaps even beyond the borders of New Hampshire.
If the New Hampshire Supreme Court sets a precedent that local governments have essentially unrestricted power over local gun clubs, then municipal governments even in other states will surely see this as a license to crack down.
That’s why this case is so important, and why gun owners all across the country are watching and waiting for a ruling to be handed down.
According to a report from the Keene Sentinel, “The N.H. Supreme Court examined the power of town zoning boards to regulate shooting ranges in hearing oral arguments Wednesday in a local case.
“The high court agreed in September to hear a combined series of civil cases the Monadnock Rod and Gun Club brought against Peterborough officials after a lower court ruled in the town’s favor. The dispute, which stretches back several years, centers on whether a range was grandfathered in as a ‘legal non-conforming use’ when the club changed the range’s orientation without permits.”
The town’s attempt to use its bylaws against the Rod and Gun Club has the appearances of being politically motivated, given the fact that the town passed an anti-gun ordinance preventing shooting ranges from operating outdoors.
The article continues, “On Wednesday morning, Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald’s questioning pointed to an uncertain future for a 2019 ordinance Peterborough residents passed limiting shooting ranges to indoor facilities. If the range didn’t retain its legal non-conforming use status, as the town has argued, it would be unlawful under this ordinance.
“This ordinance became problematic for the club when, in September 2021, it submitted an application for a site plan review to the town’s planning board for a new east-west range to replace the north-south one.”
Many municipalities, especially in states where guns aren’t as widely accepted, try to use their powers to harass gun owners who live within their borders.
In spite of the fact that the Second Amendment applies to everyone across America, many who live in more progressive places don’t seem to think that this is the case.
When this happens, it is up to the courts to correct the injustice that is being done to gun owners by elected officials.
It remains to be seen whether the New Hampshire Supreme Court will do that, but it will be a closely watched case with big implications.