County to ask residents: Should guns be fired on private property?

A county council committee on Monday declined to propose a new ordinance to regulate the discharge of guns on private property in unincorporated areas, saying the issue needs further discussion with local residents to determine a solution that will work countywide.

“This will give councilmen time to get out there and talk to their constituents and to get with staff and see if there are any possibilities that we can explore, because it’s going to meet a constitutional challenge, it’s going to meet a public challenge,” said Al Allen, Horry County councilman and chairman of the public safety committee.

Rather than impose a countywide ban, Allen and others including chairman Mark Lazarus suggest targeting the ban in large platted neighborhoods where houses are clustered on smaller pieces of property.

“Most of these things can be banned in these subdivisions through their [Homeowners Association],” Allen said following the committee meeting.

“If they would take action, and that’s something I would encourage them to do, because an HOA can actually have rules inside of their homeowners associations to address issues like that, which would be a lot easier and a lot faster than having a countywide ordinance,” Allen said.

There is no ordinance for Horry County that regulates the discharging of weapons for target practice. State law addresses where guns can be fired for hunting, and states that weapons cannot be shot within 300 yards of a residence without the property owner’s permission.

At least five municipalities within Horry County ban the discharging of weapons, including Myrtle Beach.

The issue emerged in June after a resident of Pine Valley Estates complained to the council that a neighbor was endangering lives and creating a lot of noise by firing too close to homes.

Horry County Attorney Arrigo Carotti said officials are still getting complaints about discharging firearms in close proximity to residences, and said council members have more than one option to address the issue.

For example, the council could approach the issue similar to its handling of open burning bans, which are in place for Carolina Forest but not countywide.

Or, the county can continue its current policy of no regulations while encouraging residents to be good neighbors and not discharge firearms near homes.

Lance Winburn, interim Horry County Police chief, said that when officers respond to calls of shots fired, they can issue tickets for violating noise regulations if the person is randomly firing shots and not target shooting.

Target shooting is legal in unincorporated areas of the county.

Councilman Paul Prince questioned whether property owners should be allowed to shoot guns for target practice on one-acre parcels, saying the bullets can still travel beyond the property line. He also questioned whether it would be considered littering for bullets to land on another person’s property.

Once committee members have the opportunity to discuss the issue with their constituents, they will review their findings at the next meeting in September.

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 7:16 PM with the headline "County to ask residents: Should guns be fired on private property?."