Tennessee passed its first range protection act in 1995 as a result of
modest lobbying by the National Rifle Association. However, it did not
take long to realize that the statute left too many loopholes for those
who were intent on shutting down and restricting the number of gun ranges
across Tennessee.
The main effect of the 1995 range protection act was to prohibit
actions against the range on the basis of common law nuisance relative to
noise complaints. That simply left too many grey areas. Although it was
difficult to shut down an existing gun range based upon noise complaints,
it is clear that substantial effort was expended devising alternative
legal theories on which to close down gun ranges. As a result of the
lessons learned from 1995 through 2003, the Tennessee Firearms Association
proposed legislation in 2003 which was supported by the National Rifle
Association. That proposed legislation finally became law in 2004.
Tennessee Range Protection Act of 2004 now adds substantially more
protection for new and existing ranges. Tennessee Code Annotated §
39-17-316, as rewritten in 2004, now provides:
(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Local unit of government" means a county, municipality,
metropolitan government, or other entity of local government;
(2) "Person" means an individual, proprietorship, partnership,
corporation, club, or other legal entity; and
(3) "Sport shooting range" or "range" means an area designed and
operated for the use of rifles, shotguns, pistols, silhouettes, skeet,
trap, black powder, archery, or any other shooting activity.
(b)(1) A person who operates or uses a sport shooting range is not
subject to civil or criminal liability for noise or noise pollution,
nuisance or any other claim not involving physical injury to another
human, resulting from the operation or use of the sport shooting range
as a sport shooting range if the sport shooting range is in compliance
with any applicable noise control laws, resolutions, ordinances or
regulations issued by a unit of local government, that applied to the
range at the time that the range began operation.
(2) A person or entity that operates or uses a sport shooting range
is not subject to an action for nuisance, abatement, or any other type
of action or proceeding which would have the effect of limiting,
reducing, eliminating or enjoining the use or operation of the sport
shooting range as a sport shooting range if the sport shooting range
is in compliance with any applicable noise control laws, resolutions,
ordinances or regulations issued by a unit of local government, that
applied to the range and its operation at the time that the range
began operation.
(3) A person who subsequently acquires title to or who owns real
property adversely affected by the use of property with a sport
shooting range shall not maintain any action against the owner of the
range to restrain, enjoin, or impede the use of the range except to
the extent allowed by this section.
(4) Rules or regulations adopted by any state department or agency
for limiting levels of noise in terms of decibel level which may occur
in the outdoor atmosphere shall not apply to a sport shooting range
exempted from liability under this section.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
nothing in this section shall be construed to limit civil liability
for compensatory damage arising from physical injury to another human,
physical injury to tangible personal property, or physical injury to
fixtures or structures placed on real property.
(c) To the extent that any sport shooting range has been issued
permission, whether by special exception, variance, or otherwise, by any
entity having zoning or zoning appeal authority to operate as a range,
the right to operate as a range shall not be amended, restricted, or
terminated due to a change of circumstances regarding the use of
adjacent or surrounding properties.
(d) With respect to any range that is open to the public and that
begins operation after July 1, 2004, and for which there are no local
zoning resolutions, ordinances or regulations affecting its
establishment as a sport shooting range as of the date it began
operation, such range shall not be protected by the exemptions from
nuisance actions contained herein until one (1) year after the date the
sport shooting range begins operation.
