Police Propose Ordinance to Stop Discharge of Firearms on Private Property

The Fairfield Board of Police Commissioners supported an ordinance proposed by the Police Department on Wednesday that would give the town and department power to regulate the discharge of firearms on private property.

The ordinance, currently in draft form, would prohibit the discharge of firearms like pistols, handguns, shotguns, rifles, or cannons on private property except by police officers, for protection of property and life, and for legalized hunting activity.

The idea for the ordinance arose from an investigation the department is conducting in the Queens Grant Road neighborhood in Fairfield. According to Police Chief Gary MacNamara, a resident has apparently “established a private shooting range” on his property, reportedly shooting several times throughout the day and prompting reports and noise complaints from neighbors.

An “overwhelming” number of neighbors have continued to bring the issue to police attention. MacNamara said that during the investigation -- which is ongoing -- police have found the town does not have anything in place to address police ability to “regulate individuals who choose to open a shooting range on their property.” MacNamara said the individual in question does not shoot with the intent to hunt.

“We believe we should have a way to regulate this [type of activity] in the future,” he added.

A round discharged by a handgun can travel 1,100 feet per second, Lt. James Perez said. Rifles and long guns can shoot rounds at a rate of 3,500 feet per second.

Both members of the police department and the commission were concerned about the length a bullet can travel and the varying acreage of residential property in Fairfield. Firing a gun may not pose quite as much of a threat on a property with 100 acres as it would on a half-acre lot.

Police Commissioner Arthur Hersh said he sees the discharge of firearms as a “danger to people in that area and a harassment to neighbors” and something that could be “copycatted” throughout town.

The ordinance will still have to pass through the Board of Selectmen, all the RTM committees, and then the entire RTM body. Members of the RTM will determine final draft of the ordinance and the fines or other consequences that will be implemented if the ordinance is violated.

RTM Majority Leader David Becker, who attended the meeting, said the earliest the ordinance could be voted on by the body is June.

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