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Spokane: shooting legal or illegal at Antoine Peak concervation area?

MattinWA

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Messages
278
Location
Spokane Washington
So I was dismayed today, my local shooting spot at kath road by newman lake has been shut down for recreational shooters by the county. I was doing a search and the Antoine Peak area, even closer to my house, is apparently not on the map of restricted shooting areas in Spokane county:

http://www.spokanecounty.org/data/engineers/noshoot/NoShootingMap_11x17July2013.pdf

The area is public land, owned and operated by the parks dept. I understand the parks dept has a history of spreading disinformation, and according to their website, the area is off limits to shooters:


http://www.spokanecounty.org/parks/content.aspx?c=2458

How can I be sure this place is available to shooters, without tipping the county off to this "loophole"
?
 
Last edited:

golddigger14s

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Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
2,068
Location
Lawton, OK USA
If I'm not mistaken, they can't stop legal carrying a firearm. They can make rules concerning the discharge of firearms. A lot of places have been closed down to shooting due to careless people who trash the places. A bunch of guys on TOS did a clean up at a shooting pit in Capitol Forest. They got a big thumbs up, and some serious brownie points from DNR.
 

MattinWA

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Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Messages
278
Location
Spokane Washington
If I'm not mistaken, they can't stop legal carrying a firearm. They can make rules concerning the discharge of firearms. A lot of places have been closed down to shooting due to careless people who trash the places. A bunch of guys on TOS did a clean up at a shooting pit in Capitol Forest. They got a big thumbs up, and some serious brownie points from DNR.

You say "they" can make these rules.
Then the parks dept can restrict discharge on public lands?

Both links provided were from Spokane county gov websites, yet show conflicting info on the same piece of land.

The parks dept have done silly illegal restrictions in the recent past, most recently posting illegal signs trying to prohibit firearms on the centennial trail.

With the closure of the kath rd area, there was a special county meeting and decision to close that specific area, observe:

http://www.spokanecounty.org/data/e...CCKothStarr5June2013PublicHearingLtrofRec.pdf

this above info was found on the same website that showed that Antoine peak had no such shooting restrictions, which leads me to believe that it would be the proper website to find such information, and would lead me to believe that this is just another example of the parks dept trying to regulate things that they should have no control over.

Does the parks dept have the authority to regulate discharge of firearms? Is that a "local municipality?"

Based on what I read here, the Shooting Area Advisory Committee made a recommendation to the Spokane county commissioners, who then voted to pass the recommendations. So the DNR has to go through more loops and hoops to close an area then the county parks dept?

On a side note: As I have read the states preemption, "trashing a place" as tragic as it is, is not legal reason to close public land to recreational shooters.
 
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BigDave

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Nov 22, 2006
Messages
3,456
Location
Yakima, Washington, USA
Concerning Shooting versus Mere Possession the State Legislature has given limited authority to cities, counties etc to enact ordinance restricting the discharge of firearms but does not apply if one is acting in self defense or of another.

RCW 9.41.300

(2) Cities, towns, counties, and other municipalities may enact laws and ordinances:

(a) Restricting the discharge of firearms in any portion of their respective jurisdictions where there is a reasonable likelihood that humans, domestic animals, or property will be jeopardized. Such laws and ordinances shall not abridge the right of the individual guaranteed by Article I, section 24 of the state Constitution to bear arms in defense of self or others; and

(b) Restricting the possession of firearms in any stadium or convention center, operated by a city, town, county, or other municipality, except that such restrictions shall not apply to:

(i) Any pistol in the possession of a person licensed under RCW 9.41.070 or exempt from the licensing requirement by RCW 9.41.060; or

(ii) Any showing, demonstration, or lecture involving the exhibition of firearms.

(3)(a) Cities, towns, and counties may enact ordinances restricting the areas in their respective jurisdictions in which firearms may be sold, but, except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a business selling firearms may not be treated more restrictively than other businesses located within the same zone. An ordinance requiring the cessation of business within a zone shall not have a shorter grandfather period for businesses selling firearms than for any other businesses within the zone.

(b) Cities, towns, and counties may restrict the location of a business selling firearms to not less than five hundred feet from primary or secondary school grounds, if the business has a storefront, has hours during which it is open for business, and posts advertisements or signs observable to passersby that firearms are available for sale. A business selling firearms that exists as of the date a restriction is enacted under this subsection (3)(b) shall be grandfathered according to existing law.

(4) Violations of local ordinances adopted under subsection (2) of this section must have the same penalty as provided for by state law.
 

MattinWA

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Messages
278
Location
Spokane Washington
So the consensus is that the parks dept IS the final say on if firearms can be discharged on public lands they control, even outside of city limits? That is authority enough under our states preemption? No one has addressed the original question.

(2) Cities, towns, counties, and other municipalities may enact laws and ordinances:

(a) Restricting the discharge of firearms in any portion of their respective jurisdictions where there is a reasonable likelihood that humans, domestic animals, or property will be jeopardized. Such laws and ordinances shall not abridge the right of the individual guaranteed by Article I, section 24 of the state Constitution to bear arms in defense of self or others;


^Would suggest that the parks dept is not able to just say, "you can not shoot here" as it is not a city, town or county lawmaking body...
 
Last edited:

imalurker

Regular Member
Joined
May 2, 2012
Messages
29
Location
earth
So I was dismayed today, my local shooting spot at kath road by newman lake has been shut down for recreational shooters by the county. I was doing a search and the Antoine Peak area, even closer to my house, is apparently not on the map of restricted shooting areas in Spokane county:

http://www.spokanecounty.org/data/engineers/noshoot/NoShootingMap_11x17July2013.pdf

The area is public land, owned and operated by the parks dept. I understand the parks dept has a history of spreading disinformation, and according to their website, the area is off limits to shooters:


http://www.spokanecounty.org/parks/content.aspx?c=2458

How can I be sure this place is available to shooters, without tipping the county off to this "loophole"
?

yah, the site of kath wash shut down beginning of sept.. which sucks cuz I use to go there a lot and always hauled out bags and bags of garbage. One of the neighbors stopped by to give me some sh!t only to find me out there with a rake and garbage bags.
 

MattinWA

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Messages
278
Location
Spokane Washington
yah, the site of kath wash shut down beginning of sept.. which sucks cuz I use to go there a lot and always hauled out bags and bags of garbage. One of the neighbors stopped by to give me some sh!t only to find me out there with a rake and garbage bags.

Ya I have hauled stuff out too, really is a bummer.
 

hermannr

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2011
Messages
2,327
Location
Okanogan Highland
I think the extra pressure of the koth rd site closure will be the straw that breaks the hayden creek site too. It's just a matter of time.:(

http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_d53d86d1-a7de-5303-af59-8dc90da71ce7.html

They were on TV the other night talking about Hayden Creek. The FS? was practically begging the users to clean up the site, and clean up their act or they would have to close the site because of environmental contamination regulation. They then showed a group of volunteers picking up trash in a dump...ya, that is how bad it looked.
 
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