Bluffdale • Folks still will be able to shoot and hunt in south Bluffdale.
The City Council voted 4-1 this week to reject Mayor Derk Timothy’s request that Bluffdale ban discharging firearms anywhere in this Salt Lake County city.
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Councilman Alan Jackson said the city shouldn’t restrict hunters’ rights until it has tried every other alternative to crack down on illegal shooting.
"Or until someone gets shot," Timothy interjected during Tuesday’s meeting.
"You walk on the street, you take a chance of getting hit by a car," Jackson fired back.
The city permits shooting south of 15700 South to the Jordan Narrows — as long as shooters stay at least 600 feet from homes, trails and livestock.
But Timothy and others complain that violators have been shooting too close to homes and stables.
Tuesday’s vote came after an hourlong public hearing in which hunters argued that they were being unfairly punished for the actions of a reckless few.
"I want to hunt, and I want my kids to be able to hunt," resident Kim Fuller said. His solution? Post "no trespassing/hunting signs" where property owners don’t want hunting.
Jackson directed city staff to consider modifying the boundaries for permitted shooting, as well as create a committee to address the issue.
Denise Kirby, sister of Salt Lake Tribune columnist Robert Kirby, said a pistol shooter near a trail recently spooked her miniature horse, knocking over the horse cart and injuring her leg.
She said a suggestion that people try to get a better look at shooters is not the best solution.
"As a private citizen," she said, "it is not my responsibility to approach someone to visually see if they are using a firearm illegally."
Police Cpl. Kevin Turner said if someone is shooting illegally in the permitted area, officers have to determine what direction they were shooting and where they were shooting in relation to homes and trails, which makes it difficult to prosecute.
An outright ban would simplify the matter, Turner said, because anyone shooting in Bluffdale would be a violator.
Councilman Ty Nielsen said he could see both sides of the issue. He said he had been accidentally shot once, but he also wants to protect hunters’ rights.
Councilwoman Heather Pehrson was the lone vote for the ban.
dmeyers@sltrib.comTwitter: @donaldwmeyers
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