Buckeye Firearms Assoc. volunteer works to ensure township noise ordinance won't infringe on gun rights

By Scott Seibert

Recently, Buckeye Firearms Association became aware of a proposed ordinance in Kingston Township (northeast Delaware County) that would seek to limit excessive noise from a multitude of sources. There were concerns in the firearms community that this ordinance was some sort of stealth gun control, as firearms discharges would apparently be controlled by this ordinance.

I had the pleasure today of speaking with Mr. Dewey Akers, the Chair for the Kingston Township Trustees, and he politely explained to me the intent and purpose of the ordinance (and yes, it passed.)

Basically, they wanted to give residents of the township the option of calling the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office if they have a complaint of excessive noise. Noise made in day-to-day living, working, building, excavating, etc. is exempt.

Mr. Akers himself is a shooter and long-time NRA member, and occasionally gets friends and family together for trapshoots on his own property. He indicated that he by no means intends to restrict someone’s ability to hunt or shoot in the township. He and the residents of Kingston Township feel that the residents can put up with a little occasional noise, but when subjected to constant or excessive noise, they should have the option of calling in a complaint. The way it was explained, the responding officer has the power to make the call as to whether the noise is excessive or not.

I will not get into the minutiae of the ordinance in this article, but will post the links to the text as can be found on the Kingston Township website.

Here is the original notice:

Noise Resolution Notice

The Kingston Township Board of Trustees is contemplating enacting a resolution to regulate noise within the unincorporated territory of Kingston Township pursuant to Revised Code Section 505.172.

The Trustees will hear public input on the resolution at their nest scheduled Trustees meeting to be held Monday, September 8, 2008 at 7:30PM at the Kingston Township Hall. The public is invited to attend.

Copies of the proposed noise resolution can be viewed at the Kingston Township Hall, the United States Post Offices located in Kilbourne and Sunbury, The community Library located in Sunbury and the Kingston Township website at www.kingstontwp.org

The resolution that was passed Monday night in pdf format:

http://cpmra.muohio.edu/townships/kingston/Noise%20Resolution.pdf

The Kingston Township website:
http://www.kingstontwp.org/

Scott Seibert is a Central Ohio volunteer for Buckeye Firearms Association.