Hunting, Firearms: "More Laws Means Less Justice"

Wildwood's Administration/Public Works committee members listened to a dozen perspectives at a public hearing Tuesday evening held to solicit citizen reaction to proposed changes in the municipalities hunting and firearms regulations. The public hearing was held at ; there were about 35 attendees.

One heated and vital core element of reactions was using Missouri Route 109 as a division of 'cans and cannots' when it comes to hunting and firearms allowances. A second element was public safety, given that no one seemed able to point toward notable gun- or hunting-related problems in Wildwood from a historical perspective.

"You can't legislate common sense," said Wildwood resident Ben Young at the hearing. "Any additional restrictions are unnecessary; in fact, the current code is a little too restrictive."

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No final decisions were set to be made Tuesday. Committee members will next reconvene May 1.

A common thread of discussion throughout the hearing was about the number of acres that should or should not accompany hunting and type of firearms conditions. In preparation of the meeting, Ryan Thomas, Wildwood director of public works and city engineer, prepared a map of the city to designate the pockets of land with:

• parcels less than 3 acres
• properties 3 to 10 acres
• properties 10 acres or more
• schools
• churches
• Wildwood Town Center boundary
• parks and open space

As Wildwood's hunting and firearms regulations stand now, in general, properties must be at least 3 acres to allow hunting east of Route 109. However, west of Route 109, no types of firearms are designated, meaning higher powered rifles are permitted. It was recommended that shotguns and
muzzleloaders now be prohibited east of Route 109, due to modern versions of these types of firearms having much longer shooting ranges, causing a higher risk of danger to others.

John Gragnani, a Wildwood resident who said he helped to create the city's original hunting and firearms guidelines, offered an email prior to the public hearing to be read into the record. He stated banning certain firearms seems "a bit out of line."

He posed the question of: Why write more laws about types of hunting instruments when Wildwood already has many hunting requirements and when cross bows can be equally dangerous? He quoted Roman lawyer, statesman, philosopher and writer, Cicero, in that: "More laws means less justice."

Gragnani proposed that more deer are struck by cars than taken by hunting, and that automobiles thereby contribute to a higher number of public safety instances than hunting, especially on Clayton Road, Missouri Route 100 and Missouri Route 109. "So why not propose autos be banned east of 109," like the bans being suggested about hunting, he offered.

Another Wildwood citizen, Jerry Dodwell, also sent a letter to be read into the public hearing record. He said he was in support of legislation to use shotgun ammunition of No. 4 or smaller in size. He stated he did not think mussel loaders and other types of rim loaders should be permitted in certain Wildwood areas of greater population.

Wildwood resident Marc Perez, however said smaller shots would wound rather than kill deer, and would not be as humane.

Perez said cross bow hunting is permitted by the Missouri Department of Conservation, and that he has killed four deer in the past three years of hunting. He said deer run an average of 20 to 30 yards from him on the 30 acres on which he typically hunts. He said houses are within sight of certain portions where he hunts, but they are outside of the legal distance as stipulated in the city's hunting codes.

Perez said the key to any safe hunting is to know one's backstop. "There has to be some place for the bullet to safely land. That's just basic hunting safety. You have to check your background. You have to use common sense. And can we really regulate common sense?"

"But this isn't the 'Wild West,'" said Wildwood resident Dan Topik at the hearing. "I believe our hunting and firearms regulations are well defined. We do not need a demarcation of Highway 109."

Topik said the city's open carry gun regulations also were referenced at the related Board of Public Safety meeting where the hunting regulations came up. "Our open carry laws need to be more clear. Either yes or no," he said as someone who has a concealed weapon permit and stated he is prepared to stop anyone who threatens him or his family members.

Topik suggested that a way to "put teeth into current firearms regulations" would be to state and charge hunters with consequences, such as :

• willful desctruction of property if stray bullets destroy neighbors' property
• aggraved assault if someone is shot at
• manslaughter if someone were killed